- This was one of those albums that almost slipped by me and I would have been kicking myself if it did. Coming through with their second release this year, after February’s split with Satan’s Satyrs, Windhand are not showing any signs of relinquishing my attention -any time- with Eternal Return. Hailing from the region that produced Lamb Of God and GWAR, the Richmond quartet have allayed all concerns and settled in to become a beloved fixture of a band. Playing with a stronger stoner inflection than with a modus operandi you'd associate with doom, Windhand don’t shy away from delivering a deluge of turbid riffs: a genre staple. To offset an opaque and dense record such as this with vocals breathing through and ducking distortion in some sections, balances what might otherwise be a one-dimensional release.
From a brief perusal of the track list and the length of them, there’s a notable amount of variation: from the more radio friendly to those more fitting in with the genre’s regular scope. Contrasting with those shorter songs, it gives Windhand room to play out and indulge more in the more drawn out, cerebral nature of Grey Garden, First to Die, and Feather. Had it not been for awkward and abrupt mid-song death of the album opener Halycon it would have been included in those listed previous. Eternal Return is brought in by a strong, meditative groove powering into a one-lined chorus that nails doom’s progression. Repetition works. If Matt Pyke heard the bombastic solo section riding high over the grounding loops, he’d crack a smile. After the final chorus fades out, an off-putting amount of silence forces Halycon to stumble into a passage that wouldd have rounded out the album perfectly. Tacking it on like Carnage onto Cleatus Cassidy, it feels unnecessary. Pilgrim’s Rest is an alluring change of pace. Shedding the grim exterior, it places itself in Earth’s firm grasp. Alleviated by the tonal grime, the song is a melancholy respite between the titans bookending its significantly shorter run time. None of these short tracks are filler. The aforementioned drones have a clean beauty giving the usually swallowed vocals their deserved showcase; Red Cloudy condenses down a song which could have easily been doubled in length and, even as an interlude, Light Into Dark swells with instrumental grandeur. All in all, Windhand have called their shots commandingly.
Fleshing out those moments that require extra gusto or keeping things subdued, Eternal Return finds the sweet spot between guitar atmosphere and viscous, somewhat choked melodies. The controls are handled by a steady, firm grip. Sweeping narrow vocals on sheets of distortion, Windhand have created a multilayered, engaging ride. This is an applicable time to bust out the old classic; “turn on, tune in and drop out”.
- Matt Lynch.