Ancient VVisdom – A Godlike Inferno

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Texan quartet Ancient VVisdom, despite spelling their name strangely and using equally silly stage names, are just about one of the freshest sounds linked to the metal world to come out of America in the last few years, even if they aren’t strictly speaking a metal band. Their core sound, primarily driven by acoustic guitars, blends neo-folk with only-mildly-distorted electric guitars (think 1,000,000 Miles Away from Zakk Wylde‘s Book of Shadows) and drums when harder rhythms are needed and dark lyrics which have immediately drawn them to the attention of the doom rock/metal faithful. Every track is probably catchier than music which appeals to doom fans would probably tend to be, but the mood is certainly one of melancholy and even doom metal fans like a sombre sing-along from time to time. The more repetitive choruses are likely to stick in the head most readily (World of Flesh, Devil Brain, and Alter Reality), but more thoughtful songs like The Opposition and Necessary Evil demonstrate just as much staying power. At just over half an hour the record is perhaps a little short and certainly feels like it’s over too soon, but that’s just another mark of the quality of the music. They really do need more material though. It would perhaps be prudent to follow this release up quite quickly to build on the momentum support tours with Mastodon and Ghost have afforded them, but until then this short record is nearly perfect, and amongst one of the most exciting releases on 2011.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Acoustic, Albums, Quick.Play Reviews, Ancient VVisdom