Band:	Vvilderness
Album:	Path
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Post-metal
Release date:	February 2023

01. Orm's Odyssey
02. Nemere
03. Enter The Storm
04. Ashes Remain
05. Saka
06. The Forest Of Forking Paths

A couple of years later, let's check back on Vvilderness.

Unsigned Bandcamp post-black metal bands really used to come a dime a dozen back in the day, with a lot of them being way too prolific for their own good, but that was definitely a sound that really defined the 2010s in terms of black metal. Not exclusively, but you get the point. Now in 2023, that sound is a bit out of fashion, even if bands in that style still remain. Hungary's Vvilderness first came out in 2017 with their Devour The Sun, an album that, while not among the best in the genre, still feels pretty definitive for this style. I reviewed their follow up, 2020's Dark Waters, pretty favorably especially for an unsigned artist, but have pretty much forgotten about the project since, even missing out a 2021 release. With a fourth album out, let's see how Vvilderness stacks up against time.

A lot of what I said in my previous review still holds true, with this clearly being the work of an independent musician, especially as far as production and mixing is concerned. And that's mostly the one thing that is keeping me from fully enjoying the release, because the production isn't always raw in a way that work towards establishing a unique vibe but rather something of a glass wall between really getting the music. That's somewhat to be expected of an independent musician, but six years after Devour The Sun I feel like I can expect something a bit more pristine. Because that aside, I think Path is a pretty excellent piece of work.

There's nothing revolutionary or any reinvention of style, Path creates some really beautiful soundscapes through its atmospheric black metal. The sound they approach is one a lot more on the melodic side than on the harsher one. And that feels more the case here than I remember Dark Waters being, with an even bigger emphasis on folk elements to match the conceptual Vinland story of the album, feeling the album with a lot of very engaging melodies. The problem is that I feel most of this applies to all other Vvilderness albums to some extent, and the prospect of reviewing another one of the band's albums would just have me figuring out how to say the same thing with different words.

Overall I had a fun time with Path, despite its obvious drawbacks, there's still a lot of authenticity and joy that seeps through it. I'm just waiting for the album where it feels like Vvilderness really reached a new level.