REVIEW: Weeping Wound – Pain [2019]
Artist: Weeping Wound
Album: Pain
Pain exerts its effects in different ways on different people. Others live in constant fear of it, shrink away from confrontation, debate, ache and sorrow—and who can blame them? For some, Pain is fear and blight, nearly tangible. For others, however, the exact opposite can be true. Just as some people hide from adversity and elements that leave pain’s lingering sting…
…Others thrive on it. Feed on receiving it, feed on delivering it. For them, Pain is sustenance—as rich and thick and nutritive as the blood in their veins or the air collapsing and expanding their lungs. Those men and women can’t survive without discomfort, feel the lustful want and sting when they’re otherwise “okay.” Pain is their driving force—but the most important part of all of this is that Pain is different for everyone, and that is just one of many ways in which Weeping Wound’s debut full length record Pain rings true to its name. The things the listener will experience while listening to Pain will be truly unique to them—unique beyond a simple genre label or a “heavy”/”soft” dichotomy. Unique to the core of their essence, hearkening to feelings and instincts they probably didn’t know they had. Weeping Wound go all out on Pain, pulling out the stops on emotion and aggression. Pain is nearly 40 minutes of soul-shredding, dense and dismal gloom, running the gamut from raw nu-metal to bitter downtempo and hyperdissonant metalcore. What does Pain mean to you? Keep reading—maybe you’ll find out.
Weeping Wound are masterful when it comes to creating atmosphere. From the first energetic hits from Alex Vavra’s percussive patterns to Patrick Dowling’s dissonant grooves and chugs juxtaposed against Devin Schuler’s gritty, low bass, Pain is perhaps best described as immersive. Every song Weeping Wound put forth creates its own unique feeling for the listener to steep themselves in. Lead single “23[23]23” is among the more outright aggressive of the songs Pain has to offer, cutting deep from the first riff from Dowling’s fingers. Vavra’s drumming, however, sets the tone at the very beginning, setting Pain off with a band. From here on out, Weeping Wound get progressively darker. Some of these, like “Itch” or “Pardon (A Soliloquy)” are more brooding and solemn—less energetic. Here, Vavra’s drumming works more closely with Schuler’s bass, creating a low, slinking foundation that writhes its way into the listener’s consciousness. Meanwhile, “Dope” or “Pain(t me),” along with “Ovrdozr” are raw and relentless—with the latter serving as a veritable new-age (nu-age?) nu-metal anthem. Here, Dowling and Vavra are unstoppable, nothing less and nothing more. Covering everything from introspective, dismal and depressive sensations to spine-splitting intensity and aggression, Pain stops at nothing to ensure its name rings true.
Where Pain cuts deepest, however, is with its vocal and lyrical elements from frontman Dylan Torre. “Dead Dogs,” a song originally released as a standalone single, might be one of the best examples of Weeping Wound’s lyrical prowess—especially combined with songs like “Ovrdozr” or “GhostMold.” “GhostMold,” vocally, works with “Itch” to be the two more unnerving songs Pain puts forth. Torre’s voice throughout these songs wavers with emotion, but not so much in that it sounds unsteady—in fact, it sounds anything but. “GhostMold” sees Torre taking some risks for the chorus sections and it shines, just as his dynamism shines throughout “Itch,” and side-by-side with heavy music big-wig Frankie Palmeri on “Dope.” Torre uses hard topics and raw, still-bleeding personal stories throughout Pain to make sure it hits home with the listener, and in doing so, his contributions make Weeping Wound’s debut full-length record the experience that it is.
I don’t like nu-metal. I always found Korn Korny, Slipknot’s allure always slipped through my fingers and I’d rather listen to actual static than Static-X, whatever. This means that bands who use nostalgia as a crutch to rehash the same old nu-metal songs with better production don’t tend to have any stopping power with me—and there will doubtlessly be those who are quick to point out the nu metallic influences abundant on Pain. Fair. But when I say that Weeping Wound have put out one of the most refreshing records this year, it isn’t because I’m nostalgic for some sound that people have clung on to far past its expiry date—there’s no nostalgia at all, because Pain isn’t much like anything that’s been done before. It’s been some time since a record has made me feel truly uncomfortable, but Weeping Wound captured it from the first seconds of the first true song. The eerie experimental undertones of Cane Hill clash head-on with the emotional outbursts of acts like Yuth Forever all while salted and peppered with everything from Trapt to Traitors. At this point, it’s solely up to the listener to press play and decide how Pain affects them.
9.5/10
For Fans Of: Cane Hill, Korn, Yuth Forever, Barrier, VCTMS, Born a New
By: Connor Welsh
