Ered
Wethrin
Tides of War
NSP 120 : Ered
Wethrin - Tides of War DigiCD
Release date: February 14th,
2014
Besides the
extremely successful CALADAN BROOD and GALLOWBRAID, ERED WETHRIN is the
3rd band from Salt Lake City, Utah, that signed to Northern Silence,
and occasionally it may remind the listener of CALADAN BROOD or
SUMMONING.
While the lyrics also deal with epic fantasy themes (Horus Heresy,
Black Company, Malazan Book of the Fallen, etc.), the style of the
music tends more towards the Scandinavian Symphonic Black Metal of the
90s on the one hand, reminiscent of bands like THY SERPENT (Fin), ODIUM
(Nor) or WALLACHIA (Nor), as well as more "classic" Black Metal with
occasional keyboards on the other, such as EVILFEAST (Pol), ANCIENT
(Nor) or DARK FORTRESS (Ger), as well as AETERNUS (Nor) or SATANIC
WARMASTER (Fin).
Ultimately, Ered Wethrin focuses on riffs and lyrics to evoke feelings
that go with triumphant victory and the cost of its attainment, to
bitter defeat and despair, to a melancholic solace that can permeate
moods in the wake of a grandiose and epic calamity. The band was
started as, and remains to this day, a solo-project in 2004, and the
songs on "Tides of War" are, for the most part, material that has been
written during these earlier years of the project's existence.
The CD comes in 4-page digipack with 8-page booklet and golden disc,
and is limited to 900 copies.
Tracklist:
1. Frozen Rivers 9:40
2. Frigid Tides 9:56
3. Bloody Annals and Brooding Skies 10:28
4. Into the Stars 11:40
5. Realm of the Tyrant 5:06
6. Requiem for the Fallen 14:18
7. Stellar Graveyard 6:34
Website:
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Facebook page
Reviews:
"Ered Wethrin joins the
roster of amazingly well written epic atmospheric black metal from the
city of Salt Lake in Utah. If you’ve heard of Gallowbraid and Caladan
Brood, you’re most likely going to be fawning over this project as
well. Tides of War marks as this one man band’s debut album and starts
off the year in an explosive fashion with raw vocals accentuating over
beautifully carved synths and desolate yet melodic guitar riffs. Ered
Wethrin isn’t doing anything revolutionary in this style, but the
presentation and energy is undoubtedly top notch."
(9/10 - Against Magazine)
"Der aus Salt Lake City (Utah) stammende Symphonic Black Metaller Ered
Wethrin legt mit „Tides Of War“ ein starkes Machwerk vor und befindet
sich dabei in guter Gesellschaft mit den ebenfalls bei dem deutschen
Label Northen Silence angesiedelten Bands Caladan Brood und
Gallowbraid. Der Hang zu Fantasy Themen fließt dabei, in die mit
marginaler Keyboarduntermalung versehenen und teilweise epischen,
beziehungsweise kompromisslos ausgerichteten Kompositionen deutlich mit
ein."
(8/10 - www.crossfire-metal.de)
"Hit play on opener “Frozen Rivers” and prepare for a primer on
mid-paced fantasy-driven black metal [...] Every track on the album is
anthemic, but never contrived—these songs flow well, especially
impressive given that all but one clocks in around ten minutes or
longer."
(www.invisibleoranges.com)
"Die Garde des Neunziger-Black Metal, angereichert mit symphonischen
Einschlägen, dürfte bei diesem Output schnell feuchte Augen bekommen.
[...] ...ausufernde Tapping-Teppiche treffen auf rasende Riffs, die auf
Synthesizern reiten. Auch ist man sich nicht zu schade, aus bekannten
Summoning Gefilden auszubrechen und ein Groove-Massaker in Form von
‘Realm Of The Tyrant’ abzufeuern, ohne dabei an epischen Momenten
einzubüßen. Den ultimativen Gänsehaut-Overkill vollzieht man mit
‘Requiem For The Fallen’, bei dem aller Bombast gebündelt und
komprimiert auf den Hörer losgelassen wird. Die Songs wurden in eine
Staubsauger-Produktion gepresst und danach mit viel Liebe zum Detail
abgemischt. Unterm Strich herausgekommen ist dabei ein epischer und
gleichzeitig dreckiger Bastard, der sowohl bekannte Pfade austritt, als
auch innovative Ideen mitbringt."
(12/15 - Legacy Mag)
"Ered Withrin bring us epic, melodic black metal in the vein of
Summoning, complete with drum computer and synths. The inspiration for
this solo project is drawn from fantasy books and movies. Music wise,
Sven Smith creates landscapes we know from Lord Of The Rings and other
tales of Hyperboric fantasy. It would be easy to write of Ered Wethrin
as a Summoning clone, yet there is more to the music on Tides Of War.
One can detect a certain influence from the eastern European black
metal. There are hints of Drudkh and Nokturnal Mortum to be found.
Sound wise this is quite good, considering the fact that it is all
recorded and mixed by Sven himself. No murky bedroom antics, but a
clear and spacious sound. The level of playing is also good and the
vocals are pleasant. All in all an enjoyable mix of atmosphere and
dreamy melodies. A good piece of nostalgia. There also lies the
weakness of this album. It lacks a face and sound truly its own. But I
have high hopes for the future."
(75/100 - www.lordsofmetal.nl)
"If you know Summoning, then you already have a very good idea of what
will await you on Tides of War, Ered Wethrin’s debut. Harsh, raspy
vocals, melodic riffing, atmospheric keyboards and a drum computer, so
if you look for huge and groundbreaking innovation, keep on looking, if
you look for quality, though, you should keep on reading and if
Summoning are part of your daily routine, then you have to keep
reading, because this will be a delicacy for your ears for sure!
One-man crew Sven Smith is in business with long, epic compositions,
averaging at almost ten minutes, so no blitzkrieg attacks here. Instead
he creates fantasy-inspired epics that weave atmospheric melodies with
the sub-genre’s trademark drum sound whose kind of mechanical sound
forms a counterpart to the warm keyboards, while the raspy vocals ARE
the contrast. And the best thing is that despite their length he
manages to keep them interesting and tense, avoiding superfluous
fillers or too dragged out instrumental passages. And to simply write
them off as a mere Summoning clone would also do Ered Wethrin
injustice, since they just draw influence yet there is more than
superficially catches the eye. [...] For a one-man operation the sound
possesses this amazing clarity that allows the atmosphere to unfold and
permeate each song. Ered Wethrin should quickly garner a sizeable
following among the atmospheric black metal aficionados since Smith
takes his Summoning influence and runs with it, expanding it where
necessary without straying too far to make it a cohesive whole that
should not just bear tides of war but also tidings of impending
greatness. Check out Tides of War, which has turned out to be an
impressive debut and catapults Ered Wethrin a few levels higher within
the sub-genre."
(8.5/10 - www.metal-observer.com)
"The music is composed on black metal guitar riffing mainly based on
old school influences coming from various Norwegian black metal acts.
Some references and links with Aeternus and alike are welcome as well.
Also, the vocals are very aggressive so the same goes for the tempo and
the style of playing 8so, the final product is less ambient comparing
to other NSP bands and releases). Those lovers of aggressive black
metal but with epic touch will suerly love Ered Wethrin. If you are
following NSP releases then ”Tides of War” is yet one more record for
you. The music is still epic although that this is different style
comparing to Caladan Brood or Emyl Muil."
(8/10 - www.metal-sound.net)
"“Tides of War” is a very long album, since its 7 songs last for almost
68 minutes. Ered Wethrin play epic black metal with atmospheric black
metal elements and some symphonic touches. The band has a quite raw old
school black metal sound and its music is closer to the underground
aesthetic. Sven uses beautiful atmospheric background synths, his
compositions though are clearly guitar driven. He does a great job with
beautiful epic guitar riffs and melodic leads, that most of the time
move in slow and mid tempos; five of the songs clock at 10 minutes or
longer. I’d say that Ered Wethrin belong to the “brutal” side of epic
fantasy-based black metal and at the same time they have found a very
interesting balance between aggression and melody."
(8.5/10 - www.metalsoundscapes.com)
"What a lovely piece of music, indeed! [...] All the songs go straight
to the hearts of fans (as did in my case), but the best ones are: the
melancholic and aggressive “Frozen Rivers” (with slower tempo, and good
drumming), the more introspective “Frigid Tides”, the excellent “Bloody
Annals and Brooding Skies” (the vocals are fine, remembering something
done by Lord Kaiaphas, former vocalist from ANCIENT, and the guitars
are louder here, showing a great work with riffs…), and the more
traditional (in Black Metal terms, please) “Realm of the Tyrant”. Great
work, and hope Sven will bring something more to us as soon as
possible!"
(www.metal-temple.com)
"One-man project called ERED WETHRIN has finally released its debut
album. This symphonic black metal band works with various themes from
fantasy or sci-fi literature. „Tides of War“ is a great example of
well-worked album, because every track has its own storyline. During
listetning to this album, you sometimes feel like a powerful warrior on
a battlefield."
(8/10 - www.mortemzine.net)
"Auffällig sind bei Ered Wethrin die besonders ausgeprägten und
melodischen Gitarren-Riffs sowie die Klangfülle der Keyboardsounds.
Alles in allem bietet „Tides of War“ ein breites und sehr warmes
Klangspektrum. Während bei manch anderer Band die Kombination aus
Keyboards und Metal zum Kitsch verkommt, weil die Keyboards einfach nur
nach Plastik klingen, herrscht bei Ered Wethrin eine wirklich dichte
Atmosphäre vor. Das Album nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine Reise durch ganz
verschiedene Gefühlswelten. [...] „Tides of War“ ist ein gelungenes
Debüt, das den Spagat zwischen kaltem Black Metal und einer dichten
Atmosphäre glänzend meistert."
(www.nachtaktiv-magazin.com)
"Das Ein-Mann-Projekt aus Salt Lake City hat sich zwar dem epischen
Black Metal verschrieben, lässt aber die gesamte Bandbreite an
Einflüssen der mittleren bis späten Neunziger in seinen Sound
einfließen. Das heißt, es geht deutlich riffbetonter zu, als bei den
oben genannten Referenzbands, und man weist den Keyboards eine
wesentlich dezentere Rolle zu. [...] die sechs sehr langen
Kompositionen fallen durchweg interessant aus, vermögen den Hörer zu
fesseln und immer wieder für packende Momente zu sorgen. [...] Alle
Lieder sind auf ihre Weise toll, doch mir persönlich haben es vor allem
'Bloody Annals And Brooding Skies' und das abschließende 'Requiem For
The Fallen' angetan, die mit ihren elegant eingeflochtenen Chören, den
effektvollen Rhythmuswechseln und einfachen, aber faszinierenden
Melodien immer wieder dafür sorgen, dass ich mich in der Musik von ERED
WETHRIN verliere. Somit ist "Tides Of War" eine tolle Angelegenheit für
alle, die sich von Innovationen fernhalten, ihren Black Metal episch,
atmosphärisch und fantastisch mögen, sich aber etwas mehr
Durchschlagskraft als bei SUMMONING wünschen."
(8.5/10 - www.powermetal.de)
"Facettenreich, mehrdimensional und breit arrangiert kommt "Tides Of
War" daher und beruft sich auf eine sehr melodische, symphonische
Spielweise des Black Metals. Genretypische Gitarrenmelodien treffen auf
opulente Keyboard-Klänge und ein großen Ideenreichtum im Songwriting.
Diverse Rhythmus- und Stimmungswechsel sind für das Album maßgeblich.
So werden die sechs Songs, die fast alle eine deutliche Überlänge
haben, zu spannenden Hörerlebnissen mit vielen Höhepunkten und einem
großen Wiedererkennungswert. [...] Vergleichen lässt sich das Gebotene
vielleicht mit den ersten beiden Alben von "Summoning" oder dem alten
Schaffen von "Ancient". Eingängig, monumental und stimmungsvoll klingt
so das Gebotene, welches auch die richtige Produktion gefunden hat.
Modern genug, um alle Einzelheiten in das rechte Licht zu rücken, doch
nicht zu überproduziert. Eben genau so, wie man es von einem derartigen
Album erwartet. "Ered Wethrin" legt mit "Tides Of War" ein
eindrucksvolles Debütalbum vor. Selten sind Erstlingswerke bereits so
ausgereift und detailliert, was die Freude beim Hören entsprechend
steigert."
(8/10 - www.rottinghill.at)
"The guitar work is strong and epic as that of said noted earlier bands
as well as all other instruments on the album. The vocals are very
unearthly and haunting as if the ancient spirits are speaking of
gallant wars. A highly recommended album and the perfectly blended
debut release by Ered Wethrin which surely could sit on your shelf next
to all the other great black metal artists you own because this album
will surely become a classic over the years."
(www.themetalfoundry.net)
"Fazit: Wer seinen Black Metal episch, atmosphärisch und fantastisch
mag, ist bei Ered Wethrin bestens aufgehoben. Selten sind
Erstlingswerke so ausgereift und detailliert. Da macht das Hören gleich
viel mehr Spaß."
(8.5/10 - www.time-for-metal.eu)
Interviews:
www.lordsofmetal.nl
