Woccon - Solace In Decay (2014)

Founded in Athens, GA by multi-instrumentalist, Tim Rowland, Woccon released a demo in the summer of 2011 titled, Through Ancestral Fires, which featured guest vocals by Ryan Morgan of Misery Signals. After the self-releasing the demo Rowland was joined by Tiler Kuykendall(guitars), Sam Dunn(bass), and drummer, Wade Jones, to embark on a new musical direction in which they all shared influence and vision.

From blackened death metal to now, melodic doom metal, Woccon wrote and recorded a 4 track EP in early 2012 titled, The Wither Fields. Although planned as another self-release The Wither Fields garnered the attention of Canadian record label, Deathbound Records, and was released internationally by the label on March 26th of 2013 as a collector's edition album that included 3 additional bonus tracks.

The Wither Fields was very well recieved by critics, getting an 8 out of 10 by Decibel Magazine, and was featured on many radio stations, magazines and websites around the globe. Soon after their first international release, Wade Jones disbanded due to personal reasons and was quickly replaced by new drummer, Kellen Harris. Woccon is currently writing and beginning pre-production for their debut full length that will be released TBA via Deathbound Records.


Woccon At MySpace





2014 Solace In Decay


Tracklist:

1. Intro 01:16
2. Giving up the Ghost 05:47
3. Atrophy 04:47
4. This Frozen Soil 05:47
5. And the World Wept 04:48
6. Impermanence 04:24
7. Valadilene 04:55
8. An Enduring Remorse 04:29
9. Behind the Clouds 05:59
10.Wherever I May Be 02:34
11.Wandering 09:26

Label: Deathbound Records


Seeing as how these Georgia natives not only dabble in formula, but absolutely revel in it, they probably won’t win any plaudits for originality any time soon. That said, they display such an inimitable grasp of the melodic doom/death aesthetic and execute it with such grace and confidence that I think a certain well known proverb needs to be reformulated as fortune favors the competent. OK, in their case ‘fortune’ would arguably only amount to winning the hearts and minds of those who live and breathe by the sweeping sorrow of Insomnium and Rapture, but hey, that’s their target audience and I count myself as part of it, so I can’t really fault these guys.

Like I said, those patented Finnish vibes are strong with this one—so much so that the only thing setting it apart from the likes of the aforementioned Insomnium and Rapture is the absence of clean the occasional clean vocal line. The band’s decision to utilize harsh vocals throughout lends the music a decidedly darker edge than has been the case with Insomnium and Daylight Dies’ recent efforts, and though I feel the album could’ve done with just a bit of levity here and there they are able to sell their shtick for the duration of the album with consummate ease. The formula is fairly predictable: mellow intro, melodic verse, heavy chorus, melodic verse, dramatic bridge, shimmering solo section, mellow outro. Occasionally they allow the more introspective elements of their sound to dominate (e.g. the dreamy “Valadilene”), while at other times letting the heaviness to cast a grey pal over proceedings (the extended riff workout on “Impermanence” almost brings about a black metal vibe!).

The formulaic nature of the album would’ve been a problem if the melodies weren’t so goddamned beautiful, ebbing and flowing such a way that they complement both the airy and more terse aspects of the band’s sound. The rending “Giving Up the Ghost” is an excellent example of this, juxtaposing and eventually unifying ethereal piano melodies, huge guitars and somewhat abrupt tempo shifts into a masterclass of melodic death/doom. While they allow all aspects of their sound to shine I would have to say Solace in Decay truly comes alive during the more mellow moments when a sense of stillness is established amid the roiling melancholy. These “empty” spaces pack a lot of emotional ballast the really fleshes out the band’s sound to the fullest, solidifying them as a band in total control of their chosen sound and able to hold the listener in rapt awe throughout. Great stuff!



Genre: Death
Subgenre: Melodic Death / Doom Metal
Bitrate: 320 k
Size: 130.19 MB
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