Way to End – Various Shades of Black (2013)

After Way to End’s impressive 2009 debut, “Desecrated Internal Journey”, we had huge expectations for this French outfit and with “Various Shades of Black” they have managed to surpass them and set a whole new standard for themselves. Clocking in at 50 minutes, this release is an excellent example of how a band with excellent technical skills can produce something that is both crushing and complex in nature.

Nicely warming up with the mellow “Sous Les Rangs”, people that don’t know the band will surely be puzzled and not really prepared for what is to come in this excellent release. “L'apprenti” brings back the intricate guitars from the band’s debut but with a more twisted and refined sound. The incorporation of Vaerohn of Pensées Nocturnes on bass allows them to sound richer with equally complex guitar and bass guitar sections.

Settling into a slower pace, “Evolution Fictive” keeps up the technical antics with a nice Avant-garde / Improvisational / Jazzy edge that make this track very unique and quite interesting. The layered vocals on songs like “Vain” are designed to make the music sound more brutal by combining several vocal styles while the rest of the music is just killing it in terms of melody. The clean vocals are a very nice pace changer in this last track and help everything come together in a more dynamic way.

One of our favorite tracks is the unpredictable “A Mon Ombre” that weaves back and forth between very aggressive sections and lush melodic passages with epic clean vocals. The band does a great job in changing colors over this release and crafting very unique tracks that are all connected through an underlying musical foundation very particular of Way to End. A very similar approach was taken for the chaotic and decadent “Au fond d'un verre de poussière”.

Going to the deep-end of Avant-garde Black Metal, “La Ronde des Muses Fanees” keeps things very fresh and engaging with a very mellow and even circus-like atmosphere. The clean vocals here are quite excellent and the whole vibe of the track has the very unique feeling of Vaerohn’s other band: Pensées Nocturnes, but with the signature Way to End sound. Saving the best for last, “Various Shades of Black” is indeed the best song of the release with excellent percussions, crafty guitar work and very well arranged vocals. The track reminds us a bit of older Borknagar with some Vintersorg sprinkles on top.

As one of those albums that the more you listen to it, the more you get out of it; “Various Shades of Black” is just amazing. The band has managed to raise the bar even higher with this release and we eagerly away to see if they can keep delivering. If you are a fan of complex and thought provoking Black Metal releases with Avant-garde elements, be sure to never forget the name Way to End and get this and their earlier release, they are worth the money.

Release: March 30th, 2013

Genre: Black Metal

Country: France