Having formed in Los Angeles in 2013, Witherfall were on a path towards global domination with their third album Curse Of Autumn, but then the pandemic brought them to a shuddering halt. As a way of overcoming that hurdle, the band put their energies into writing new material and the fruits of their labour finally sees the light of day as Sounds Of The Forgotten. Featuring ten tracks of exquisite power metal, it finds the band picking right up where they left off and continuing on their upward trajectory.
Attesting to a sense of urgency, there’s no time to waste on elongated introductions or preambles, just an ear-piercing scream from vocalist Joseph Michael along with a thunderous drum roll and then the band are off. Doing what they do best, Witherfall proceed to deliver a foot-on-the-monitor, horns-held-high metal anthem in the shape of ‘They Will Let You Down’. It’s all very air guitar inducing, but with Jack Dreyer on the six string, that’s really no surprise. He’s a guitarist who understands that sometimes it’s not what you play, but what you don’t and his guitar solos are all the more precious for their rarity value; he doesn’t feel the need to scrawl his sound on every surface, rather he leaves space for the listener to infer meaning and this makes for a more collaborative experience. However, the greatest delight about this band is the sheer variety that goes into comprising a Witherfall record, and this is an album that flows like an old school album, and it should be listened to as such. After the histrionics of the opening cut, the band slip down a few gears to deliver a power ballad in the shape of ‘Where Do I Begin?’. And why not? It’s a sudden shift, but one that really works and makes Sounds Of The Forgotten a musical journey, as opposed to a regular listening experience.
Housed in a beautifully designed sleeve courtesy of Blake Armstrong (In Flames/Megadeth), listening to this album is very much akin to opening a door into another world. Despite existing in the power metal sphere, many of these songs have an ethereal, ghostly quality as if emanating to us from a different dimension, and like a spectre, these songs will haunt you long after the disc has stopped spinning. Released on the band’s own DeathWave label, it sounds as if Witherfall are operating with a great amount of freedom; this is the sound of a band doing exactly what they wish and that comes shining through in every note. From heady highs to loquacious lows this album wends its way like a smooth river of silk before we arrive at epic closer ‘What Have You Done’, a hulking pièce de résistance that brings the album to a fitting finale.
Without missing a beat, Witherfall have picked right up where their last long player finished and continues ever upwards. The sky’s the limit.
- Sounds Of The Forgotten is released via DeathWave Records on 31st May 2024.
- Official Website | YouTube Channel
Track List:
1. They Will Let You Down
2. Where Do I Begin?
3. A Lonely Path
4. Insidious
5. Ceremony Of Fire
6. Sounds Of The Forgotten
7. Aftermath
8. When It All Falls Away
9. Opulent
10. What Have You Done?
