Review by Saxy S for Bludgeon Oath - A Burning Wrath (2023)

Going back and looking at my 2023 here at Metal Academy so far, it shows that this will be the year that I finally, fully embraced my Gateway clanship. That comes with a metric ton of problems that I will attempt to resolve in the coming years, but the biggest one is that my exploration of the North clan and black metal has been limited. A subgenre that I once explored frequently has become surprisingly absent from my listening in favour of mainstream metalcore and progressive death metal.

But when I saw some Canadian black metal from Bludgeon Oath come across my way, I figured it was worth a shot to experiment and I'm so glad that I did. This is some clean and atmospheric black metal that plays with dynamics incredibly well. Interspersed in between some gorgeous soundscapes of open chord guitars and blast beats is a masterful vocal performance. The chemistry between the vocals and instrumentals is great and leaves me with a feeling of insecurity as to where the album is going to go next, which is largely the point here. I really enjoyed the buildup of songs like "Crimson Storm of Swords" and "The Timeless Vaults of Eternity" and Bludgeon Oath compliment this with a great extended opener, "A Burning Wrath".

For once, I feel like A Burning Wrath is an album that could benefit from maybe one more song. As it is, thirty-two (32) minutes does not seem like a lot and Bludgeon Oath have already proven that they can make long songs that don't feel long. This was a pleasant surprise from a growing black metal scene in Quebec and I can't wait to hear what this group does in the future.

Best Songs: A Burning Wrath, Crimson Storm of Swords, Behold the Overwhelming Power