Winds of Tragedy - Death Wash Over Me

Angry Metal Guy 60

Since its inception in 2022, Winds of Tragedy has put out one full-length per year, and I was starting to wonder if it wouldn’t happen this time. Maybe, I thought, running a record label has finally taken up enough of his time that Chilean mastermind Sergio Catalán will have to dial back on his usual creative outlets. More fool I—Catalán seemingly never stops, and Winds of Tragedy is back with its third full-length release, Death Wash Over Me. In the past, I’ve commented that the rapid cadence of these releases leads to too little change or shift between them, and so with every release, I look for the changes, the progress, the forward momentum that signals a new direction on the horizon. It’s a fascinating way to review new music, but Winds of Tragedy is an interesting project. How does the new one hold up?

Death Wash Over Me is a bleak album—the cover art should give that much away—but not in the doom-heavy way that Hating Life and As Life Drifts Away were. Death Wash Over Me sees Winds of Tragedy experimenting more with sound than Catalán arguably ever has. The album is filled with thrash-y riffs and snarling vocals, and pulls back on the mournful leads, heavy keys, and guttural roars that have been Catalán’s hallmarks for several years now. In fact, the vocal style is so different from previous Winds of Tragedy and Rise to the Sky releases that I had to double-check that there was no new vocalist—the rasps and snarls that dominate Death Wash Over Me are impressive, very well-suited to the music, and a huge step up from the previous two albums.

Death Wash Over Me by Winds of Tragedy

The other notable thing about Death Wash Over Me is that, as it progresses, it moves increasingly into depressive black metal territory. “I Am No One” is standard Winds of Tragedy fare, with a slow strings start and a gradual build over a solid riff. “My Feet Don’t Touch the Floor,” on the other hand, even apart from the title, is significantly more desperate, with guest vocals from Void in the form of manic shrieking that evokes Ezkaton in a darkly depressive duo with Catalán’s snarls. “I Built My House to Suffer” leans further into the depressive side, with more shrieks from Void and strong riffing infused with emotional keys. There is a lot of this depressive imagery in use across the album—even in the song titles (“I’m Fine But Not Really,” “Giving Up on Life”) it’s hard to avoid the dismay and depression that dominates the forty-minute runtime.

That aspect of Death Wash Over Me is likely to be its make-or-break element for many listeners, with the extreme vocals and imagery enhancing or damaging the album’s flow depending on whether or not you like them. It’s always a risk for an artist to experiment with extreme elements like this. For me, the best moments on the album don’t make use of them; “I’m Fine but Not Really” and “Giving Up on Life” have great acoustic moments and electric leads that add so much emotional depth that I wish Winds of Tragedy had utilized them more. The vocal samples in “Blood Will Wash All That’s Left of Me” don’t quite add that same depth, and Void’s guest spots feel awkward in a few places. Fortunately, the album is rooted in a fair, if slightly loud mix that does a good job of balancing these many elements into a cohesive whole.

These elements make Death Wash Over Me a tough album for me to rate. In some ways, it is the strongest Winds of Tragedy release for me, with some of the best vocals Catalán has ever done and superb instrumental moments. On the other hand, it demonstrates a potential departure from familiar territory into a side of music that I usually don’t turn to. I’d try to be objective, but that’s obviously impossible, so I’ll just go with my gut and say it’s a good album that shows untapped potential. Winds of Tragedy could go in several directions from here—I’ll be very interested to see which one Catalán treads next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Tragedy Productions
Websites: windsoftragedy.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/WindsofTragedy
Releases Worldwide: December 13th, 2024

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