Photo by Samantha Marble
US black metal legion, WOE will release their long-awaited new full-length this March via their new label home of Vendetta Records. Titled Hope Attrition, the alarming seven-track offering, and first in four years, was penned throughout the end of 2015 and most of 2016.
Featuring founding guitarist/vocalist Chris Grigg alongside a monster lineup of longtime contributing bassist Grzesiek Czapla, guitarist Matt Mewton, and drummer Lev Weinstein, Hope Attrition is a dark, mournful work that draws from WOE‘s darkest black metal influences while drawing out dormant death metal undertones, bolstered by the crushing production of renowned engineer Stephen DeAcutis (Evoken, Dim Mak) at Sound Spa Studios in Edison, New Jersey. Hope Attrition is a personal commentary on the chaos of the modern world that only WOE can offer.
“Hope Attrition is the result of the most intense writing and demoing process since the first album,” relays Grigg of the record’s manifestation. “The long break from playing and performing gave me the opportunity to approach WOE with a renewed energy and perspective. Grzesiek acted as co-producer and under his watchful eye, I wrote and scrapped nearly another album’s worth of material before settling on these, which then saw fine tuning at the hands of the full band. The world itself provided the ultimate motivation and pushed us darker, heavier, more oppressive, resulting in the strongest work in our catalog. We are particularly proud to be working with Vendetta on this release, as they are a partner who shares our dedication to our art.”
Hope Attrition will see release on March 17th on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital formats. Physical editions come swathed in the artwork of artist Justin Miller who’s handled artwork for all past WOE releases. Additionally, the band’s logo has been reimagined by legendary logo artist Equitant.
Sample first single “No Blood Has Honor” streaming now at the band’s official Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION.
Additionally, a remastered edition of debut, A Spell For The Death Of Man, is currently available digitally and on vinyl (limited to 500 copies) via Vendetta RIGHT HERE.
Hope Attrition Track Listing:
- Unending Call Of Woe
- No Blood Has Honor
- A Distant Epitaph
- The Din Of The Mourning
- The Ones We Lost
- Drown Us With Greatness
- Abject In Defeat
In related news, WOE will bring their warring odes to Europe with German black metal unit Ultha for a stretch of festival dates including an appearance at Roadburn on April 22nd with future onstage assaults both Stateside and abroad in the plotting stages.
WOE w/ Ultha:
4/13/2017 TBA
4/14/2017 Hamburg Is Droneburg Festival @ Hafenklang – Hamburg, DE [info]
4/15/2017 Vendetta Fest @ Tiefgrund – Berlin, DE [info]
4/16/2017 Conspiracy Of The Damned Festival @ Baroeg – Rotterdam, NL [info]
4/17/2017 Nexus – Braunschweig, DE [info]
4/18/2017 Club Famu – Prag, CZ [info]
4/19/2017 TBA
4/20/2017 Doom Over Leipzig Festival @ UT Connewitz – Leipzig, DE [info]
4/21/2017 Dudefest Festival @ Jubez – Karlsruhe, DE [info]
4/22/2017 Roadburn Festival @ O13 – Tilburg, NL [info]
WOE was formed in 2007 as a black metal solo project of multi-instrumentalist Chris Grigg. After catching the underground’s attention with a strong demo of ugly, raw black metal, the first full-length, A Spell For The Death Of Man, was unleashed in 2008. The album presented the first glimpse of modern WOE: faithful to the traditions established by the black metal classics but a willingness to inject a very American perspective by way of punk and hardcore influences. It found critical acclaim both in the underground and beyond.
Demand for live performances encouraged the assembly of a full band, which was put together with veterans of the Philadelpahia scene. After two years of live work, they signed a contract with longrunning metal label Candlelight Records and released Quietly, Undramatically in 2010. The first recording to feature a full band, the album continued the direction established by A Spell For The Death Of Man but pushed further outwards, showing WOE‘s willingness to experiment with an expansive “post-black metal” sound while not completely ignoring their roots. The risks paid off, as the album received an enormous response and propelled the band to new levels of recognition. Performances at Scion Rock Fest in California and a brief tour opening for the infamous Mayhem followed.
After three years and a relocation from Philadelphia to Brooklyn, the band released Withdrawal on Candlelight in 2013 to more rave reviews. Their strongest, most abrasive material to date, it drew from the dynamics of Quietly, Undramatically while descending back towards the controlled chaos that were central to the WOE‘s ideals. The band toured heavily in support but were ultimately forced to put the project to focus on responsibilities outside of music.
WOE:
Chris Grigg – guitar and vocals
Matt Mewton – guitar and backing vocals
Grzesiek Czapla – bass
Lev Weinstein – drums
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