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Ambient melodic post-BM offering of two songs - 65%
An interesting little demo of post-black metal from Odesa in Ukraine, this could be a single plus its B-side: the first song "Inhale My Despair" alone features a catchy bass groove and a smart punchy delivery. The track bursts out of the speakers abruptly after a deceptively tranquil instrumental intro. The guitars are a rough and raw tremolo blur and the drums are crisp and clean. The vocals are very ragged and sound quite burnt-out; they are the only downside on the song. Fortunately the thrashy music and the quiet ambient passages dominate a good part of the song and lead guitar lines easily trump the vocals in defining the band's style. The more reflective moments are the real highlights though: soft percussion, moody bass tones and quivering guitar in the background create a very deep meditative atmosphere.
The band hardly pause to take a breath for the next song "When Gift Becomes My Damnation", continuing the bleak ambience and dejected urban blues feel from the previous track. A monstrous wave of tremolo guitar chords and screeching voice smacks you between the eyes and ears, paving the way for drums and high-pitched lead guitar to bore deep into your mind. Again the song features strong melodic post-BM rock, a dark mood of despair and dejection, and moments of stillness. The last moments of the song are very urgent with shrill vibrating lead guitar high above the rapid-fire barrage.
Self-loathing, despair at life and desire to escape persecution into oblivion are prominent themes in both songs. The worst punishment imaginable is immortality and the demo's conclusion, lyrically and musically, suggests that such immortality will be a living Hell.
The demo gives us a basic sketch of Ukrainian post-metal band White Ward but there are very few clues of what these guys are really capable of. They can handle sheer shit-hot black metal fury and ambience of quiet beauty though sometimes the way they juxtapose the two runs the risk of losing a lot of impact and leaving listeners feeling as though a huge hole has been punched out of their insides where their hearts and stomachs should be. The singing leaves much to be desired though: lacking variety in its shouty manner and with a dry, ragged texture, it's no match for the subtleties in the music.
A full-length recording would give a better idea of what White Ward can do and how expressive their music can be. I have the feeling WW haven't really shown much on this short demo; whether they're erring on the side of caution and saving their best for something bigger or if these two songs are representative of what they do, I'm not sure.
