WOE

As far as one-man black metal projects go, WOE's "A Spell for the Death of Man" stands on solid ground. Xos (a.k.a. C. Grigg) does a commendable job with the guitars, vocals, and perhaps most pleasantly surprising, the drums. The engineering job of Xos and Joe Smiley is far better than a lot of black metal albums I've heard; crisp and full without sounding too slick or clinically sterilized.

The seven songs in 43 minutes do not offer a great deal of variety, going for a full speed ahead (for the most part) attack that sometimes vaguely recalls the sheer force of ANTAEUS. However, Xos does come up with more than a few compelling chords and subtle changes. There are a few moments that lean quite heavily toward the melodic side of black metal guitar harmonizing (e.g. "I see no Civilization"). The rhythm section is noticeably propulsive and the drum sound is damn near perfect. Combined with a hard charging groove riff, album opener "Solitude" is the album's most powerful track (one that begins with a light segment before the launch occurs). The introspective closing tune, "Memento Mori" ends as the aforementioned opening segment begins in a sense. Slow, brooding, and airy with tortuous, XASTHUR-esque shrieks, it is the sonic equivalent to the smolder remains of a massive forest fire.

While the album begins to approach redundancy halfway through, there is enough in the way of pure forcefulness and riff alterations to keep it from being a yawner. "A Spell for the Death of Man" will not necessarily stand out in a big way from the pack, but it is not a characterless affair either. Xos is onto something stirring enough here to warrant keeping the ears pealed for the next release.