Introduction
“Wayfarer – American Gothic”
Origin: Denver, Colorado, USA
Formed in: 2011
Genre: Americana Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: 27th of October 2023
A dark history and a bleak outlook upon our now revealed. Seeds of greed and corruption buried in Western soil, watered by bloodshed and sprouting their cursed roots across the land and through time into the neo-dark age we call today.
“What we have now is a world full of oil drillers, and railroad barons. Cattle thieves and company men. This is the new American Gothic.”
For the past ten years, Wayfarer have astonished critics and enthusiasts with their groundbreaking brand of Americana black metal. Staying true to the black metal way by embracing the darker side of history while breathing life anew into its forlorn tales. Wayfarer have proven to be a vital part of the USBM movement and a source of pride for their home state of Colorado.
The notorious Western wild – the land of hardship, unforgiving terrain and a bleak sort of dread that naturally accompanies the desolate landscape. All captured and brought to life through genuine BM that pays homage to the blood, labor, and sacrifice of those throughout history who have called the West home. In much the same way as how bands like Ireland’s Primordial so eloquently detail the perils of yore, so do Wayfarer, only with an even darker vision into years past; a touch of Western gothic to drive in the pine coffin nails and etch the tombstones. On October 27, Wayfarer will release their highly anticipated new album, “American Gothic” via Profound Lore.
American Gothic
“American Gothic”, when compared to Wayfarer’s previous record “A Romance With Violence”, is an album of the somber and soulful consort. A deep-running melancholy that courses throughout even the liveliest parts of the album to be experienced, along with more than a subtle touch of brutality. A sinister ambience to absorb, heartwarming melodic sequences to savor, and that telltale Western twang that calls to mind images of stallions in full stride under the cool glow of a pale moon over the canyon and sacred bonfires ablaze in the desert night. Each epic album cut alive and pulsating with newfound energy: black and bold, dramatic and visual from the opener “The Thousand Tombs of Western Promise” that lays down the thunder of a thousand horses trampling the plains with every dominating cadence and full-attention-demanding guitar riff, to the midway point in the stunning mood piece “A High Plains Eulogy” with its dreamlike lulls, all the way through to the blackened psychedelia of the closing track, “False Constellation”, an unforgettable black metal experience.
Not a second of runtime lost to redundancy; only enrapturing passages that beg to be heard over and over again as each track tantalizes the same sweet spot but in its own unique way and with varying degrees of impact. Dirty loose string Western vibes in “Reaper On the Oilfields” give way to ear candy riffage and old-timey, headbanging rhythms in “To Enter My House Justified”. But never too far from out of the shadows will you venture, for despite the album’s propensity for rousing up the old horns with its many high energies, metal as fuck parts, “American Gothic” is a depressive and at some points even an enraging sort of metaphorical reflection of a very dark past into the hopeless present. In a class of its own and artful to the core, one of the finest American black metal albums I’ve ever heard.
Experience “To Enter My House Justified” from “American Gothic” right here as presented by Profound Lore:
Conclusion
Corruption never ends; it just puts on a different suit and hat with each passing era. And what this nation was founded on, so too shall it be buried by: the greedy aspirations of evil men. The spirit of the oilman and the cattle thief alive and well within every dirty businessman and every poor desperate victim of the capitalist machine. Dark days behind and even darker ahead as we spiral further into our inglorious future. “American Gothic” is an album to be remembered by…
10/10
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