Isolert - Wounds of Desolation

Angry Metal Guy

Only in metal can you consecutively review albums that share multiple genre tags yet sound nothing like one another. Next to Modern Rites‘ introspective, melancholic black metal, Isolert’s brand cuts a different figure. Gritty, old-school, and definitely not pretty, it takes more pages from the book of Seth than ColdCell or Selbst—or, indeed the typical Greek black metal approach. Wounds of Desolation is their third full-length and comes on the heels of the well-received ripper World in Ruins. Wounds of Desolation picks up exactly where that record left off, sporting another collection of furiously paced second-wave riffs with howling, rabid, vocal performances. Sometimes, something simple done well is exactly what you need. Like the little black dress or a gin and tonic, black metal stripped down to its essential second-wave components makes simplicity an art. However, simplicity leaves little room for flaws to hide—you’re going to taste the own-brand gin and wince the same way you do when leading tremolos are lukewarm and monotonous.¹ Luckily for Isolert, they’ve mixed their drink well and their outfit is on point.

The key for so many albums is delivering on or subverting expectations and that’s no different on Wounds of Desolation. The album opens with a promise, “The Downfall’s Monologue,” that isn’t a typical synth-filled instrumental to skip. Instead, it’s an excuse for a dramatic guitar solo that sets the tone for the intense, sinister guitar work that follows. The rest of the album delivers on the promise, too. You expect rasping, shrieking screams, but the band doubles down on the use of howling, moaning, and shouting—sometimes a single voice (“The End of Beauty,” “Children of the Void”), and sometimes in a tumult of voices (“Where Dreams Die,” “Herald of Demise”). You expect barbed blizzards of riffs in minor keys, but the axemen here turn the evil up to eleven with malevolent scale climbs (“Where Dreams Die,” “Reflections of Nothingness”), almost-classical stalkabouts (“Spewing Venomous Gloom”), and lurching, loopy tremolo patterns (“Flesh. Torn. Asunder!” “Herald of Demise”). You expect a torrential rain of blast beats and flicky turnovers, but Isolert enhances even this with a balanced blend of full-frontal assault, assertive, emphatic crashes, and battering fills.

Wounds of Desolation by Isolert

What makes Wounds of Desolation shine is that it sounds like Isolert had as much fun creating it as I had listening to it. The OG black metal spirit of irreverence and spite—of “trveness,” if you will—animates every pluck, beat, and cry. What already sounds pretty damn good on paper is refreshing and satisfying in reality. The unhinged vocals that open “The End of Beauty” or “Where Dreams Die” make you want to join in and howl right back. Similarly, it’s difficult not to grin maniacally at the writhing rage that is the distilled second-wave flurry of “Children of the Void” or the adrenaline shot that is “Flesh. Torn. Asunder!”² Isolert also pulls off a rare feat of using spoken word in a non-cringe-inducing fashion (“Herald of Demise,” “Reflections of Nothingness”), and uses synths tastefully, to complement the guitars rather than rendering the melodies anemic. All this to say, it’s an absolute blast.

Wounds of Desolation is also expertly produced. The album doesn’t suffer from the peaking, brickwalled master that plagues old-school black metal acts. This is dynamic and it’s well-balanced. Hearing each instrument as snarling choruses of voices tear through the wall of sound makes the music even punchier. Hard-hitting, snappy, accessible, and simple in the best way, you’d be hard-pressed to find a 2024 black metal record that’s more fun. Though Isolert’s refrains are oddly unmemorable due to the band’s approach, the overall feeling of the compositions sticks with you. When that feeling—and a 40-minute runtime—drive you to replay Wounds of Desolation, memorability ceases to be an issue.

In short, if you’re looking for fresh, satisfyingly evil second-wave black metal that pulls no punches, Isolert’s Wounds of Desolation is it. This record is proof that the genre doesn’t need to be conventionally beautiful, atmospheric, or stitched into a death metal tapestry to slap. Isolert deserves more recognition, so go give it to them, denizens of the blackened corners of Angry Metal Guy!

Rating: Very Good
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Non Serviam Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: September 13th, 2024

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