Band:	Woods Of Desolation
Album:	Torn Beyond Reason
Style:	Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	February 25, 2011
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Torn Beyond Reason
02. Darker Days
03. An Unbroken Moment
04. The Inevitable End
05. November
06. Somehow...

The depressive duo of Tim "Sorrow" Yatras and the man known only as "D" are back with yet another chilling display of a statuesque journey through melancholia, venturing only so far from the true path of solitude with Woods Of Desolation in order to entice the audience enough to gain a mutual understanding of nature's purest form of torment.

Woods of desolation. A barren wasteland. Emptiness. A deserted territory. These images are captured perfectly not only by the spellbinding cover art, but by the mournful atmosphere that nicks a vein and leaves you with a band-aid and a cup of cold water to stop the bleeding. It tears at your cheek with a mighty force, ripping you from the comfort of your abyss, scrutinizes you, evaluates your worth, inspects you for flaws, scoffs at your lack of purpose, considers removing you from your shelter permanently...only to toss you back in again.

It's a catch-and-release expression of pity and joy, a game of cat and mouse interrupted by one of Tolkien's ring-wraiths shrieking before the stupefied animals, as diluted drums blast away in the undertow. Acoustic guitars make their presence felt when necessary, calming the chaos and giving reason to the anarchy, while the profound (and unfortunately all too rare) cello use sends ripples through your wrists as the tide begins to rise.

The austerity of such a release has been watered down slightly, perhaps due to the outside influence of a certain stone-colored water involving our beloved duo - nevertheless, the trees are imposing as ever, and there's nobody else around to hear them fall.


MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/woodsofdesolation