For fans of expansive, melancholic Metal with a Progressive edge, the 1990’s saw the rise of many such strains of distorted moodiness. A lot of bands, like Katatonia, Moonspell, My Dying Bride, and Paradise Lost, continued to travel onward, morphing as they went, delighting thousands along the way. One of the more promising such entities that died upon the vine were In the Woods… from Kristiansand, Norway. Even as they were ripening into something truly magical, the band chose instead to go their separate ways. Now, fully 16 years after the release of their third proper album, 1999’s Strange In Stereo, the band has reunited once more, coalescing from restlessness and creative absence to bestow a new studio album onto the world stage. Entitled Pure, it comes to us here at the edge of autumn courtesy of shrewd, dedicated record label Debemur Morti Productions.
In the Woods… took life back in 1992, created by the Botteri brothers, Christopher and Christian, known by the letters C:M and X, on bass guitar and guitar respectively, along with Anders Kobro on drums. (Following the split in 2000, Kobro maintained a distinct presence in the scene, filthing up the kit for Black Metal perverters Carpathian Forest). From their 1993 Isle of Men demo and breathy, 1995 Pagan Black Metal debut Heart Of The Ages, onto their seminal, maudlin 1997 classic Omnio, and right on up to the split, the vocal duties of In the Woods… were handled by Jan Transit (real name Jan Kenneth Transeth). His icy screams on their earlier works soon gave way to one of the more unique clean registers this side of Rock music.
At once alien and epic, the news that In the Woods… would be reforming without him had fans speculating. To fill these shoes comes none other than James Fogarty, aka Jaldabaoth, aka Mr. Fog, who is behind such avantgarde acts as The Meads of Asphodel, Ewigkeit, and The Bombs of Enduring Freedom. A yeoman of the underground scene, the Brighton, UK native possesses a solid, mid-range clean vocal that, given the In The Woods… treatment fans are hoping for, might just do the trick. Sadly, the reformation of In The Woods… was fated to happen despite the tragic, untimely death of one of its early and enduring guitarists, Oddvar:M (real name Oddvar Moi), who left this plane of existence far too soon in 2013 as a result of cardiac arrest.
Carrying his spirit along with them, the heart of In the Woods… plus new vocalist Fogarty, being older chaps, no doubt have families and day jobs of their own, and seeing how the band is not big enough to support themselves financially off of (yet), one gets the feeling that this reformation is truly a labor of love, of creative impulses fighting to get free. Indeed, the title track to Pure seems to immediately want to tell the listener something; “Pay attention, we’re back,” it shouts. Fogarty’s vocals do justice to and build wonderfully upon Transit’s erstwhile, mournful wail. This is evident in the silky-smooth verses of the song, backed up by heavy riffing and a production that keeps things sharp while adding a spacey otherness so vital to this band’s zeitgeist. Fogarty makes one wish to sing along, heartily and with the same vitality he brings to the mic. The band drops some ambient moments in between what works out to be a loud and brash opening song. New fans should be excited, old fans excited and relieved.
“Blue Oceans Rise (Like A War)” is a Synth lover’s dream, beginning ethereally, yet ominously. Always one to marry atmosphere to the themes of the music, this one in fact does come on like a rising tide at the beach. Its Goth styling is the band telling fans that Omnio is still fresh in the band’s minds. Simpler, heavier, it relies more on hammer blows than speed, getting its point across with a breath of night upon the listener’s shoulders. Fans should by now be convinced that Fogarty’s voice is brilliant.
“Devils At The Door” is solid and catchy; this one is Fogarty’s show once more. “The Recalcitrant Protagonist” comes off ballad-like, but Botteri’s guitar sound is heavy as hell, ensuring that the proggy moments keep the album from losing impact. Fogarty’s dream-like verses give a Pink Floyd feel to the whole affair, creating a vibrant, delicious listen that gets better the more one immerses oneself into it.
In The Woods… seems to have a pile of heavy riffs on hand, planting them around Fogarty’s oak-strong bellow and letting the whole thing percolate in a synth-heavy gravy in listeners’ ears. “Cave of Dreams” harks back to their classic period, while the stunning “Cult of Shining Stars” may just be the strongest song on the whole album. Get lost in it, over and over, it begs. The heaviness, double-bass drumming and simmering keyboards will doubtlessly sound magnificent live.
In “Towards the Black Surreal,” those reverberating opening notes are instantly recognizable as coming from this obscure Norwegian band, Fogarty’s vocals again coming very close to those of his predecessor. Fans will lose themselves in the guitar work; a flood of magical riffing and leads with some ‘whoa-oh-oh’ wordless vocals at around the 4:00 mark guaranteed to relax the brain after a hard day of stress. Beautiful and imaginative, this is heartfelt and seriously enjoyable stuff, finishing heavy, superb, and dark as the long autumn nights ahead. “Transmission KRS,” with its 10:43 running time, appears ready to eclipse some of the epics on Omnio. Instead, the band throws a curveball and gives us this long instrumental. Deep into it, it is good because their production is so yummy, but one is left feeling like something is missing. The guitar soloing toward the end brings it all home, and subsequent listens knowing this is what the song is building towards makes it much more enjoyable. “This Dark Dream” and “Mystery of the Constellations” bring the album to a close in grand fashion, complete with hypnotic guitar work and smooth vocal lines designed to lull even as they excite.
Overall, Pure is a powerful return for this lesser known, but extremely influential band. CrypticRock gives this album 5 out of 5 stars.
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