This is the debut album from Wrach, a Welsh solo black metal band.
Quad Infra Volo Videre contains 48 minutes of sinister underground black metal. It’s inspired by the 90s second wave style, but other influences from across the last few decades have been drawn into its malevolent embrace, giving it more of a 00s feel overall.
So that you’ll have a decent idea of the sort of dark waters that the album wades in, the promo blurb mentions Deathspell Omega, Leviathan, and Mayhem as reference points. These sum up the sort of grim magicks that the artist behind Wrach works quite well I feel, while still leaving enough room for Quae Infra Volo Videre to have its own personality within this.
The music feels ancient and frostbitten, but also timeless in its arcane manifestation. Wrach’s music isn’t lacking in passionate hostility or envenomed delivery. The songs are steeped in occult atmosphere. Quae Infra Volo Videre has an esoteric, unearthly presence, rich in raw malignant potency. Although aggressive in that particularly satisfying black metal way, the songs attack shrouded in clandestine auras. Each song claws its way from the underworld with zealous intensity and disturbing hostility.
All aspects of this album are well-performed and realised. The various guitar parts are thought-through well, flowing from one section to the next with serpentine grace. The atmospheric quality is high, demonstrating a firm grasp of this sort of music’s makeup. This is used as a foundation of the album, allowing the artist to build terrifying soundscapes with apparent ease.
A strong release then, especially for a debut record. Quae Infra Volo Videre is an album that will work its way into your mind, infecting your thoughts and luring you back with dark promises of nightmarish experiences most foul. It’s a potent poison, but one worth enduring, as the rewards are great.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 