Windhand - Windhand (2012)

For the most part, Sabbathian doom bands stand out by only writing great songs because sonically it's damn near impossible to seperate yourself from the overcrowded genre. But there is something about Richmond's Windhand that makes them even more drugged-out and exceptional. The riffs sound like normal doom, but trapped in a mass of dark forest limbs, trying to hack their way towards the light while singer Dorthia Cottrell appears as a gloomy specter, wailing forlornly through the mire. It's massive, addictive destruction. Yeah, these f@ckers are gonna be huge.

Yes, finally the new Windhand! Don’t you just love it when an album drops unexpectedly? I remember for instance searching frantically for the new Cruel Force, and the new Devil album – a true pleasure when a long awaited for album is released! The new Windhand is everything you would expect after hearing the first demo. After the release I kept coming back to the album, not in the least because of the female vocals and ex Alabama Thunderpussy’s Asechiah Bogdan on guitar. In the genius mix on my iTunes, I kept on appreciating this two songs of the demo (Black Candles and Wintersun) which you will find in an extended version on Windhand’s debut album. Apart from the awesome tracks, you have superb artwork and of course a kick ass band’s name ?. No idea what it means by the way, but it sounds cool nevertheless. The vocals on Windhand’s album are fairly in the background, and I can imagine them developing into an even fuller sound when the vocals would end up more in the foreground in coming releases. The guitars are overwhelmingly fuzzy and at times the overall sound reminds me of Acid King.

Five songs, lasting almost 42 minutes, but the album still has an EP feel to it. It ‘feels’ short, and you keep on listening to these tracks over and over again.. Starting off with Black Candles, you hear the pummeling drums and the heavily distorted riff. The female vocals give their sound this little extra haunted dimension. Libusen is punishing in its own right: thundering drums are the fundament of this wonderful track. Heap Wolves has a nice riff with a twist: Windhand shows us here it’s perfectly possible to be totally original within the fields of doom.. Summon The Moon starts with an evil bass line before developing into mind numbing riffworshipping. The closer Wintersun was also on the demo, a great track to end the album with.

~9/10, www.doommantia.com