Band:	Wildernessking
Album:	The Devil Within
Style:	Progressive black metal
Release date:	January 22, 2014
A review by:	Windrider

01. Lurker
02. Flesh
03. The Devil Within

When I first heard the debut album of Wildernessking, I instantly knew that there's something special in it. It's not like they reinvented the wheel with mixing some prog style into black metal, but there was this certain atmosphere and the overall feeling that the whole band stands passionately for their music. Having caught my interest, I followed the band's activities since then.

The Devil Within now arrives as the second EP after their debut album and a really impressive one it is. While the ...And The Night Swept Us Away EP showed a change in sound and style, the new release catches up where The Writing Of Gods In The Sand ended. Moreover, in some parts of the new songs both styles are mixed, marking the slight progression that's healthy for every band.

As before, there are three songs on the record, but now without intro or outro tracks. The listener feels a more aggressive atmosphere that yet doesn't sound too plain. "Lurker" is a classic black metal track in every aspect and has the role of a link back to the first album. Now set in the mood, one is ready for the impressively written parts of the second song "Flesh". The chorus is a two-piece part of old school first-wave and modern blast beating black metal.

Mentionable are two key factors here: The drums are perfect in every way, catching patterns played by a talented drummer with one of the best drum sounds I have ever heard; no triggers and no clicky bass drum, just the warm and natural sound of it. Fenriz would appreciate it for sure. The second important factor are the vocals of singer Keenan Oakes that always sound like slightly distorted screams from hell, giving soul and personality to the music.

When talking about the last track, I stand on the edge of commenting on a masterpiece. Unlike the other songs, the title track isn't as describable, but the riffs in there will catch most of the listeners. If the next record (a full-length I hope) will be in that style, we have great times ahead of us. The three tracks on The Devil Within EP already sound like a cut-off album as they are in the right order to open up for a memorable full-lengths, and with this impressive record I have no reasons to be skeptical about what is to come next.