Band:	W.A.I.L.
Album:	Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination And Lunacy
Style:	Black metal, Death doom metal
Release date:	October 20, 2009
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Initiation
02. Wisdom
03. Agony
04. Illumination
05. Lunacy

Death doom metal
Finland
Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions

Line-up on the CD:
P.R. - vocals
A.E. - guitars, vocals
T.J. - bass, guitar (additional solos)
S.F. - drums, keyboard, bongos, djembe, tambourine, triangle, maraca
Katarina Moisio - violin (session)


It's amazing how some of the most deserving of albums go completely unnoticed by the general public due to simple quantitative limitations. Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination And Lunacy, an immaculate extreme metal debut, was initially released by the band back in 2009 as a limited edition vinyl LP, and those who were lucky enough to hear it weren't exactly the caring, sharing variety. Thankfully, Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions took it upon themselves to give this gem a proper re-release - this time as a CD - and for good measure, some publicity!

Simply put, W.A.I.L. are the tits. Okay, that isn't the most professional way of putting it, but this album is simply too good to be a debut. At times it reeks of the recondite nature of occult black metal masters Deathspell Omega, though its primary vacation hot-spot is at the five-star Process Of Guilt all-inclusive resort. With a seemingly vulgar atmosphere accentuated by extremely drawn out riffs and a hazy production, W.A.I.L. turn the extremity factor up to 11 and dish out some truly evil melodies. The intro, aptly entitled "Initiation", sets the mood for the rest of the release, with some clean, hypnotic humming backed by a soft-sounding guitar.

The album's defining asset would be its progression. W.A.I.L. are apparently never content with any one continual direction of any of the five tracks - all of which run an approximate 10 minutes short, aside from the eerie intro - and their efforts to keep things sporadic are far from subtle. Songs aren't easily broken up into "parts" as in most cases; rather, songs seem to bounce back and forth between ideas, all the while incorporating a variety of emotions - the mix of anger and regret perhaps the most prominent. Amazingly, these ideas aren't dismissed as another enters the foray, as each section presents itself more as a motif. This all adds up to a complicated experience, though its cohesive manner ensures the listener won't feel entirely confused.

What can be said for the song structures applies directly to the musicians as well. The guitars, while largely concentrated on setting the aforementioned evil atmosphere, also contain several groovy hooks haphazardly throughout the album that induce a more headbanging sensation, all of which is augmented by excellent solos that are seemingly systematically proportionate to the track lengths. The drumming is superb, setting the pace and changing things up just when you think the song will grow stale, and PR's vocals - the depth and range alone - are a perfect fit for such a diverse representation of what death doom is truly capable of.

This is unofficial, but rumor has it Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination And Lunacy has been nominated by residents of Hell for Satan's personal Sounds Of The Rainforest. If I find myself six supernatural feet under in the coming days, I'll be sure to give it my vote.