My first exposure to Wayfarer was during one of my many days wasted aimlessly browsing youtube videos. It was a clip of the band playing "Ever Climbing" live at an outdoor gig. Combine that with some wandering, tom-heavy drums that sounded like they were trying a little too hard to be "tribal" or something, and as a result, my initial reaction was "man, what a bunch of fuckin' hippies". The generally scruffy appearance of the band members didn't help matters much. The song itself was very indicative of the band's name, as the sprawling ten-minute number really just sounded like a few three-minute sections pasted together because they sounded vaguely similar. It was as if the band went into the studio really baked with some half-written songs, and everyone was just so immersed in their own genius (and baked) that they just played all their ideas without stopping. For shit's sake, the album cover has some dude with a dream-catcher for a head on it! You'd be forgiven for assuming in the first two minutes that Old Souls would just be an hour-long drum circle.

Normally, all of these off-putting features would be enough for me to move onto another video and forget about it. There was a little bit of grit in the guitars, though, and I am known to have a soft spot for this "big gay nature metal" kind of stuff, so I stuck around for the duration of the video. I had certainly heard worse, so for whatever reason I decided to check out the rest of the album. My expectations weren't too high, but at worst, I could have some fun slagging on the band in a negative review if it sucked, right?

Further exploration into Old Souls revealed a similar template to the one I heard on the debut. Long, drifting passages that suddenly changed in pace or texture after sufficiently wearing out their welcome were the norm for all tracks. Drifting in one direction, then suddenly beginning to drift another way. In searching for a particularly abrupt transition to use as an example here, I heard one near the end of "Old Souls' New Dawn", so I went to check out the time to give a more accurate snapshot so that you, the reader, could look up the moment for yourself. But whaddya know--it turns out that the next track had actually started playing. What I thought was a transition in the middle of a song was actually the end of one and the beginning of another. It was in that moment that I realized what the fragmented and aimless songwriting was actually trying to accomplish. It allows the songs to function as separate pieces as well as part of a greater whole. There is a rise and fall within tracks, as well as a greater sort of ascent throughout the album. These dirty hippies know what they're doing!

Of course, songs can be structured by a genius and still have shit riffs. Fortunately, Wayfarer are also a notch above many of their peers in that regard. Weaving a bunch of disparate fragments together wouldn't work if this was that type of Cascadian black metal that relies more on texture and hanging tremolo than actual riffs to get the job done (I'm looking at you, Skagos). Fortunately, the sense of melody is Wayfarer's strong suit. Old Souls creates that earthy atmosphere, but does it solely through actually playing riffs. Different kinds of riffs, even--there's the occasional moment like two minutes into "All Lost in Aimless Chaos" where you can hear a post-hardcore influence seeping through the cracks. There's times when this band sounds like they should be signed to Bindrune, and others where Deathwish Inc. seems like a more fitting label. (They seem a bit out-of-place on Prosthetic to me, but hey, whatever works I guess.) Whatever their influences actually are, it's a familiar yet refreshing mix of black metal and hardcore, with a few tasty little acoustic guitar breaks to help ease the pace a little bit. 

Another interesting tidbit: this features Blood Incantation's drummer. You'd never be able to tell, because he plays a completely different, yet still equally distinct style on Old Souls. The best way I can describe it, as I alluded to in the opening paragraph, is "pseudo-tribal". When he's not doing your stock blastbeats and double-kick sections that are generally the norm of most metal drumming, Isaac Faulk always sort of sounds like he's playing a fill. It's a very long, slow fill, but it's a fill nonetheless, and it's key in creating that "wandering" feel that allows Wayfarer to thrive. The vocals are...there. They certainly help to solidify the grit behind the riffs, but they're essentially just placeholders. Not an issue, really, as the extended instrumental sections let the riffs forge their own path. 

I'm not gonna say that Old Souls is immediately mind-blowing, but listen to it a few times through before you reach a verdict. Worked for me, anyhow. I started off a bit apprehensive, but this ended up being one of my favorite albums of the year.

The expectant swarms of atmospheric black metal vassals, particularly those amidst us cloud-sheltered Cascadian sect, demand regular sacrifice in the form of vent-like flows of muddied-yet-triumphant Precambrian tremolo riffs. Unintentionally so, from this inspirational cycle gushed the influences necessary for the early efforts from Denver, Colorado based Wayfarer. Their sound was a polished talent in the lightly folk-ish atmospheric black metal crowd alongside Wynterfylleth, Ash Borer, and Falls of Rauros. I’d always felt the project was just on the cusp of Saor‘s foamy, melodic greatness if they’d lean into the fire of folk more. There is little more satisfying than all expectations, and my own awful ideas, being thrown to the wind. In the case of Wayfarer‘s third album ‘World’s Blood’ they’ve let ragged folk elements rust in the rain and embraced post-rock, ambient, and various other influences to greater effect.

‘World’s Blood’ is a newly risen Eocene eminence towering mightily above the shaky, flustered jank of their peer’s quickly eroding output. Some of this attenuating storm of wind and soil comes from new environs resultant from greater change. Guitarist Joey Truscelli, who’d contributed bass performance to their 2012 demo has joined full-time and fully integrated since 2016. New distribution (Profound Lore) as well as a new producer (Colin Marston) signal a twinge of a new Wayfarer that is forward-thinking, or at least more grounded, with greater distance from their more obvious earlier influences. The same floods of semi-melodic atmospheric black metal riffs and post-whatever style still structure ‘World’s Blood’ but a virtuosity shines through the composition and performances that is a world removed from ‘Old Souls’.

With some greater mind for atmospheric gilding, and in defiance of sub-genre constraints, the broader stylistic ventures of ‘World’s Blood’ contain traces of post-rock, atmospheric sludge/post-metal, Marston-esque contrapuntal wandering, and a full on neofolk finale. Much of the album consists of darker streams of guitar work that dominate the three 10+ minute tracks at the center of the album with alternating build-and-crescendo typical of post-rock influenced black metal. Prominent and slightly gnarly bass guitar tone gives the recording a nice heft when everything plows forth in unison and escapes the typically flat sound of atmoblack records. I know it might not even sound like a black metal album by description at this point… yet ultimately does have the necessarily dark pulse needed for an actual black metal ‘attack’ that gives way to several satisfying peaks in each of the longer middle compositions. I didn’t completely realize there was a ‘Denver sound’ in terms of atmospheric black metal but if ‘World’s Blood’ is an example of it, then I appreciate it leagues beyond the blackgaze and atmoblack I’ve heard as of late.

The art and packaging is simple and attractive but the greater themes of the record escape me outside of speculation without a lyric sheet. Clear allusions to the plight and defenestration of the native people of the United States are made in every Wayfarer record and, judging by the song titles and slight tribal ambiance explored, this one is no different. There is some grand, serious tonality to ‘World’s Blood’ that feels more appropriate for their themes than previous. Hints of cinematic score, Americana, and dream-like atmospherics provide an incredibly harrowing and detailed hallucination of history and fantasy alike; As a listener I’m not sure if I’m meant to ogle the psychedelia of it all or wrestle with it’s tragic message of callous decimation. In absorbing both the beast and it’s burden across many listens I found awe and disorientation to be an appropriate enough mixed response.

Easily the most spell-binding and professionally presented atmospheric black metal release so far this year, ‘World’s Blood’ is the sort of record I’m happy to jump into and fawn over for a couple of months only to completely forgot had I not documented the experience. That isn’t a suggestion of a forgettable experience but rather an exhaustible one. With some excited frequent listening it’ll become it’s own blurry set of tracers and mirage melted into to the apeiron of music you’ll connect with this year. I’m not sure if I’ll remember it by the end of the summer, but it was an amazing piece to be enveloped within. Because of the albums interconnected structure it is hard to recommend select tracks so the duo of “Animal Crown” and “On Horseback They Carried Thunder” should inspire you to let the whole thing spill over in full, as intended. 

Attribution: https://grizzlybutts.com/2018/05/25/wayfarer-worlds-blood-2018-review/

It's always cool when black metal (or black metal-ish in Wayfarer's case) bands take on the mystique of the landscapes they call home. This is readily apparent in the second wave classics, and say what you will about the Cascadian black metal scene at large but it definitely spewed out a few classics. Wayfarer hail from Colorado and evoke the vibe of their surroundings like few bands can. Their music evokes vast expanses of dusty plains, looming mountains in the distance and visions of the Old West. They take the songwriting approach of so-called nature metal bands and breath new life into the style by opting for a dark Americana aesthetic. Their vast, wandering song structures perfectly evoke images of the frontier. 

I suppose Wayfarer aren't really black metal any more, if they ever really were at all. It's quite interesting how Wayfarer take what would usually fall under the umbrella term "dark metal" and transplant an unlikely aesthetic over top. They have all the trappings of a band that would end up being called dark metal for lack of a better descriptor. They clearly come from a black metal background, have a fair amount of doomy passages and definitely show death/doom influence. Instead of the somewhat gothic romantic atmosphere you'd expect, they have just have chosen to go for an aesthetic more resonant with their home State. For their dark Americana leanings, they bring it to its logical conclusion with "A Nation of Immigrants" - by actually including a legit dark Americana song. This acoustic song is quite cool, the dusty guitar providing a backdrop for deep, mournful vocals and the female backing vocals just being the icing on the cake. I hope in the future they do a similar thing but with the clean vocals in less of a background atmospheric role. While there's lots of wandering guitar sections and understated leads, they have no problem conjuring up legit riffs that work perfectly with the atmosphere. The rhythm section plays a very important role here. The bass snakes around under the cover of the guitar like an Apache warrior stealthily sneaking around under the noses of the army. While the drummer definitely knows how to rock a blast beat, there's tons of drifting tom beats, which work perfectly with their wandering sound. 

Wayfarer often get compared to Agalloch, which I guess I can sort of understand. Both bands are not quite black metal and frequently dabble in longer atmospheric arrangements and evoke the scenery of their origins. However, aesthetically Cobalt is easily their closest brethren (Shane has even played live with them). One of the things that make Cobalt such a unique band is how uniquely American they sound. Their sound is mired in dark Americana, they have stuff like in "Hunt the Buffalo" that clearly evokes the old West and their prime lyrical inspiration is gleaned from American literature. While less riff-centric, Wayfarer brings a similar dark Americana vibe to the table. Another thing in common is the drumming. One of the things that initially struck me with "Gin" was the elaborate tom-tom patterns which could be equally contemplative and warlike. Wayfarer rely heavily on this style, ushering in a feeling of vast hinterlands. 

World's Blood is an engrossing ode to Colorado and its past. It's not quite as involved as Panopticon's magnum opus Kentucky, it's not hard to think of the albums in similar terms. Both take a love for their home state - warts and all - and turn it into an immersive slab of extreme metal. The cover art is one of the best cases I've seen of being a perfect representation of the music. If an extreme metal album mired in an aura of dark Americana and the old West piques your interest, you'd be remiss to overlook this wonderfully unique band.

American black metal may be a well-established genre, but how many Americana black metal bands can you name? Wayfarer is one of many bands inspired by the atmospheric folk accents of Agalloch, but the Denver group uses bleak tremolo runs, a mix of tribal drums and blast beats, and acoustic breaks to create an aesthetic based more on the Great Plains than the Rocky Mountains. Their third full-length album toys with this formula further and sets the band even further apart from their peers.

World’s Blood is easily Wayfarer’s most accessible album to date. The songs are still mostly ten-minute affairs with a couple of shorter tunes rounding things out, but they come out more digestible due to an overall shorter forty-five-minute runtime. The production is also slightly cleaner, with the guitar specifically sounding less brittle than before. This results in a much dryer and less claustrophobic sound than what came before, creating a wide-open environment for the Western style to more naturally expand.

This more sweeping approach is further exacerbated by shifts in the musicianship. The guitar tone is more muscular with riffs that aren’t afraid to venture into near doom territory. The drums allow the tribal influences to shine through more often while still allowing room for plenty of barrages. It gets to a point where songs like the opening “Animal Crown” draw comparisons to High on Fire.

Wayfarer’s folk aspects are also more strongly defined on World’s Blood. The soft interludes and acoustic instrumentals are nothing new, but they’ve never been this well integrated nor exercised the Americana aesthetic to such a degree. “The Crows Ahead Cry War” best demonstrates this shift as it boasts an epic desert atmosphere and smooth tempo transitions alongside its rather awesome title. “The Dreaming Plain” achieves similar results and “A Nation of Immigrants” makes for a smooth melodic closer.

Wayfarer’s third album accentuates the band’s Wild West approach to black metal and thankfully ends up being far less tacky than one would expect. It greatly benefits from the natural evolution that led up to it as well as the thrilling shifts in songwriting and musicianship. It remains an extreme metal album through and through, but I can imagine fans of desert rock and related genres finding a lot to enjoy here as well.

Highlights:
“Animal Crown”
“The Crows Ahead Cry War”
“The Dreaming Plain”

Originally published at http://indymetalvault.com