Wren – Black Rain Falls (Review)

Wren are a UK sludge/post-metal band and this is their third album.

I was introduced to Wren on their 2015 split with Irk, and I’ve been a fan ever since. They followed that with the enjoyable EP Host in 2016, and then by their debut full length, (and particular favourite of mine), Auburn Rule in 2017. Groundswells followed in 2020, and continued their string of quality releases. Which brings us up to date with the 36-minute Black Rain Falls.

An album powered by heartbreak and loss, Black Rain Falls is Wren at their darkest. This is Wren’s shortest album so far, and every part of it, (interlude track aside), is essential.

Wren’s new material is expressive and textured, taking what has worked in the past for the band and expanding it further with atmospheric and emotive depth. The sludgy post-metal style is the natural environment for a band like Wren, and they make use of its stylistic building blocks like mastercrafters. The triumvirate of Cult of Luna, Isis, and Neurosis continue to be the best starting point for Wren’s music, although Wren have carved their own identity within this.

Black Rain Falls is an album of emotion, substance, and weight. It’s also Wren’s doomiest release too, probably by thematic design. Grief and bleak despair drip from the music’s doom-ridden distortion. It delivers catharsis through heaviness and rage, while concentrating on building mood-driven structures that resonate with emotive potency. The songs each swamp the listener in post-metal soundscapes both crushing and atmospheric. It is an approach that works very well for the band, and their songwriting maximises the impact their presence has.

It’s great to have a new album from Wren once more, especially one that’s so damn good. How Wren aren’t a bigger band within the post-metal sphere is beyond me. If you’re a fan of the style, you won’t want to miss out on Black Rain Falls.