honeycombguy
My favorite albums in black metal tend to be those which incorporate elements of folklore, folk music, and overall atmosphere from a band's homeland into the established conventions of the genre. Drudkh, early Ulver, and even Panopticon are all bands that have used this formula to make great albums.
Well, this album's combinination of the aesthetics and folk music from the old American west with black metal has definitely caught my attention. It's quickly become a new favorite of mine!
Favorite track: The Iron Horse (Gallows Frontier, Act II).
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A Romance With Violence Digipack CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
4-Panel Digipack printed on matte UV stock with 20-page booklet.
Includes unlimited streaming of A Romance With Violence
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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A Romance With Violence - Ltd EU Gatefold Pressing - Ultra Clear Black Marbled
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Century Media EU Pessing, on "Ultra Clear Black Marbled" vinyl. Gatefold jacket with foil stamping on front, back, and spine. Includes insert. Only a handful of copies available for sale in the US.
***Limit one per buyer, orders with multiple copies will be CANCELED.
Includes unlimited streaming of A Romance With Violence
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
WAYFARER is black metal of the American West. A cavalcade of fury, melancholia, and dust-laden storytelling; the band is informed by the fierce and adventurous spectrums of heavy music, along with the stark Americana of the “Denver Sound” artists that carved the identity of their home.
In “A ROMANCE WITH VIOLENCE”, their most fully realized effort to date, WAYFARER presents a searing silver-screen requiem for the myth of the West. This new work sees them at their most intense and triumphant, as well as at their most pensive. Bold, rhythmic and riff laden, the band’s pointed expedition across the frontiers of black and extreme metal are tinged with the grit and genuine air of artists like Sixteen Horsepower and Jay Munly, and the majestic heights of the Ennio Morricone/Sergio Leone collaborations. Through seven harrowing anthems of the high plains, the album paints a poignant exploration of heroes and killers, the setting sun on a romantic era, and the shadow it has cast on the world we live in today.
Recorded in the midst of the pandemic by Pete deBoer (Blood Incantation, Dreadnought), A ROMANCE WITH VIOLENCE was mixed by the inimitable Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts), and Mastered by V. Santura (Triptykon, Dark Fortress). The album will see release on October 16, 2020, on CD/LP/Digital on October 16, 2020 by Profound Lore Records.
WAYFARER, from Colorado’s “Queen City of the Plains”, has origins beginning around 2012. Guitarist/vocalist Shane McCarthy formed the band with drummer Isaac Faulk, bassist/vocalist James Hansen, and original guitarist Tanner Rezabek. They would release 2014’s “Children of the Iron Age” and 2016’s “Old Souls” via Prosthetic Records, after which they would replace the departed Rezabek with longtime collaborator Joe Strong-Truscelli as full-time guitarist. Partnering with Profound Lore Records in 2017, the band released “World’s Blood” in 2018 on the label, ushering in the current chapter and paving the way for this new release.
The last few years have seen the band take their visceral live show across the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe, touring alongside artists such as Inter Arma, Saor, Krallice, Primitive Man, Falls of Rauros, Dark Buddha Rising, Thantifaxath and others. Taking the stage around Roadburn, Fire In The Mountains, and Northwest & Austin Terrorfests, WAYFARER have made a name for themselves as a live act, with the intensity of their performance leaving an impression among its audiences.
With the release of A ROMANCE WITH VIOLENCE, the band fully manifests a sound that is uniquely theirs, and is unlike anything before it. Following its release, they will soon be seen bringing their shattered view of the American West to stages across the world.
credits
released October 16, 2020
Recorded by Peter deBoer
Mixed by Colin Marston
Mastered by V. Santura
Album cover photograph graciously borrowed from “Temporary and Permanent Bridges and Citadel rock, Green River, Wyoming” by Andrew Joseph Russell, 1868.
Cover image edited by Shane McCarthy, with additional illustration by Adam Gersh
supported by 596 fans who also own “A Romance With Violence”
never been a big death metal fan but this is actually super accessible for the genre, has fun concepts, and personally i'm always a fan of albums with short tracklists and huge runtimes (for individual songs) Great time, good jumping on point for newbies too. alienasu
supported by 584 fans who also own “A Romance With Violence”
What an impressive piece of black metal. This one-man hurricane is pure art. Sgah‘gahsowáh creates an haunting atmosphere. He puts so much soul in his music. Sælzer Bub
supported by 545 fans who also own “A Romance With Violence”
The album description mentions an “emotional apex.” That’s really the difference between Stare and the band’s previous albums. Ulcerate was always supremely technically proficient. I just didn’t care all that much. Their growth has come from making music you will feel. Metallurgical Fire
supported by 462 fans who also own “A Romance With Violence”
Blackbraid quickly followed up their 2022 debut in 2023 with more native folk infused furious black metal. This is by no means a sophomore slump as it is equally excellent, methodical, melodical, and approachable as the first record. 9/10 RJ