| Written by Rob Botten TRACK LISTING The Return Home The World, As It Was Sung to BE Grief The Ending Arcane Projections Absent Mortal Vessel Drained Lights in the Murk YASS-WADDAH IS: Hannes Grossmann – Drums Clemens Wijers – Keyboards & orchestration Adrienne Cowan – Vocals Pietro Baldan – Guitars & bass Release Date: September 1, 2018 Label: They Live We Sleep Recordings |  |
It’s been over thirteen years now since I started to really get into black metal, and to say it’s been a major part of my life would be a massive understatement. I would say discovering black metal would have been my second biggest musical revelation right behind discovering metal music as a whole maybe three years before. For nearly a decade, it became a staple of my day-to-day life; I was always blasting some black metal band or becoming extremely excited over discovering a new one. Simply put, I’d say I know my black metal pretty well. With the modern era of streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, us fans can discover almost countless bands both new and old. The selection can be almost overwhelming, however there are many gems out there waiting to be discovered. One group in particular I have high hopes for would be Yass-Waddah, a fresh new black metal band who released their first full-length album Lights In The Murk. If you are a fan of black metal, then I highly recommend you check this album out. You wont regret it at all.
Lights In The Murk starts off with chilling symphonic tones only to jump right into fast-paced drumming and guitar accompanied with some impressive vocals by Adrienne Cowan. Yass-Waddah have taken a majority of their influences from writer William S. Burroughs to create an end-of-the-world vibe. With the first track "The Return Home", I could hear many influences from a number of other bands. My thoughts were if Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Dark Funeral, and Satyricon were to be intermingled together, this would be one of the outcomes. That is a good thing. Yass-Waddah brings their own elements into the mix, but thoroughly touch on everything that makes black metal the genre that it is. Many of the songs on Lights In The Murk sound like a spin-off of Dimmu Borgir from albums like Death Cult Armageddon and Stormblast 2005, albeit with less symphonic elements and focus. The track "The Ending Arcane" even has synthesized talking blended in adding to that end-of-the-world vibe the whole album has.
From beginning to end, this album is tight and very well produced. Lights In The Murk, from start to finish has that modern refined black metal sound without the distortion being turned up all the way. There are many elements in every track that really pull it all together. The drumming is mixed well with variations from traditions black metal style with sections slowed down to emphasize many symphonic elements. I would say the drumming is really the strongest part of Lights In The Murk. Adrienne’s vocals are very impressive, however I felt there wasn’t really much variation to them. Although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some changes in the way she uses her voice would only tighten up this record. At times her voice sounds similar to that of Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy. There are parts where the guitar or bass sound amazing and almost give that hair-raising vibe we all have come to know in metal music. My one and only qualm is that there is little variation between songs. Each one does have some of it’s own elements, but for the majority of the time, it all sounds the same. I’ve listened to the album from first track to last a number of times now, and I still find myself not realizing another song has started.
Overall, I have to say I quite like Lights In The Murk. It’s a pretty strong album and Yass-Waddah clearly have some incredible talent and are showing lots of promise. The strongest track I would say is "The Ending Arcane" – I get the same vibes that I do when I listen to older Dimmu Borgir or more recent Darkthrone. However, this album is not one to listen to from start to finish, but in bits here or there. I am going to keep on eye on these talented musicians in the future. With the strength this first full-length album has, I have high hopes for what they have to show us next.
Highs: Very strong drumming with an awesome end-of-the-world vibe.
Lows: Not enough variation between songs to make one more memorable than the other.
Final Rating: 7/10
Lights In The Murk starts off with chilling symphonic tones only to jump right into fast-paced drumming and guitar accompanied with some impressive vocals by Adrienne Cowan. Yass-Waddah have taken a majority of their influences from writer William S. Burroughs to create an end-of-the-world vibe. With the first track "The Return Home", I could hear many influences from a number of other bands. My thoughts were if Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Dark Funeral, and Satyricon were to be intermingled together, this would be one of the outcomes. That is a good thing. Yass-Waddah brings their own elements into the mix, but thoroughly touch on everything that makes black metal the genre that it is. Many of the songs on Lights In The Murk sound like a spin-off of Dimmu Borgir from albums like Death Cult Armageddon and Stormblast 2005, albeit with less symphonic elements and focus. The track "The Ending Arcane" even has synthesized talking blended in adding to that end-of-the-world vibe the whole album has.
From beginning to end, this album is tight and very well produced. Lights In The Murk, from start to finish has that modern refined black metal sound without the distortion being turned up all the way. There are many elements in every track that really pull it all together. The drumming is mixed well with variations from traditions black metal style with sections slowed down to emphasize many symphonic elements. I would say the drumming is really the strongest part of Lights In The Murk. Adrienne’s vocals are very impressive, however I felt there wasn’t really much variation to them. Although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, some changes in the way she uses her voice would only tighten up this record. At times her voice sounds similar to that of Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy. There are parts where the guitar or bass sound amazing and almost give that hair-raising vibe we all have come to know in metal music. My one and only qualm is that there is little variation between songs. Each one does have some of it’s own elements, but for the majority of the time, it all sounds the same. I’ve listened to the album from first track to last a number of times now, and I still find myself not realizing another song has started.
Overall, I have to say I quite like Lights In The Murk. It’s a pretty strong album and Yass-Waddah clearly have some incredible talent and are showing lots of promise. The strongest track I would say is "The Ending Arcane" – I get the same vibes that I do when I listen to older Dimmu Borgir or more recent Darkthrone. However, this album is not one to listen to from start to finish, but in bits here or there. I am going to keep on eye on these talented musicians in the future. With the strength this first full-length album has, I have high hopes for what they have to show us next.
Highs: Very strong drumming with an awesome end-of-the-world vibe.
Lows: Not enough variation between songs to make one more memorable than the other.
Final Rating: 7/10
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