WILDSPEAKER - Spreading Adder

June 23, 2017, 6 years ago

(Prosthetic)

Greg Pratt

Rating: 7.0

review black death wildspeaker

WILDSPEAKER - Spreading Adder

Second album here for Dallas’ Wildspeaker, and their first for Prosthetic, a good home for this crusty hardcore band. I love the d-beat energy of the title track, which saves the album after the subdued and sleepy opener, “Apparent Death.” When the band lays down blastbeats in the same song, it becomes obvious that they have skill at combining raw, messy grind, black metal overtones, and a huge crust-punk focus. Admittedly, it’s a mixture that always does it for me, even though the black metal generally comes off as unnecessary (here and whenever a band does this). 

I love the sudden end of the title track, and love how “Elegy” just picks things right up again, and also love how the band handles slower, sludgier sounds with a touch of melody, as on “Ecdysis.” Closer “Renewal” shows Wildspeaker’s power when they break away from what they spend most of their time doing and add in a quieter, more reflective part to break up the assault. Throughout Spreading Adder, there’s a general lack of personality, and there's a feeling of fatigue that sets in about two-thirds of the way through this 42-minute album, but Wildspeaker have tons of potential, lots of energy, and sincerity all over the place here.



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