Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Werian - Animist



This is an interesting one, Eisenwald is one of my favorite labels and I'm obviously a huge blackened doom metal nerd. This being said, Werian have done something interesting with Animist and while the idas are certainly there, it sometimes feels like the execution is not. There is a really interesting duality here, and though a lot of things are done beautifully many other elements leave me a little frustrated. However, with art as compelling as this, it's hard to not want to at least spend SOME time with an album that seems to tick all my metal nerd boxes.

What I will say is that this record has a lot of cool twists and turns, there are touches of black metal, cool choirs and all sorts of unique elements that tie Werian into a lot of the more high falutin' European art doom scene. That being said - Werian also could have done a better of producing Animist. It feels like, while many of the ideas are good, there are too many of them. Animist is an album that frequently gets very close to greatness but ever seems to quite make the cut. I just can't get behind that overpowering, rattling bass guitar. This is a really unfortunate miss because the band is incredibly talented and seem prone to delivering a lot of good material over the next few years.

As is - this is a potent starting point and it boils down a lot of what the band has been working on in the demos, compilation and split that led up to this records release. The band is full of potential and seems to have a deep understanding of this type of music with a unique vision all to themselves. As they evolve and execute on the same level as their ideas then they are going to be a veritable force to be reckoned with. This record is an interesting take on the genre to say the least and leaves me excited for what comes next!

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/Werian6668

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