After a thirteen-year break between albums and a hiatus, the band Rwake is back with a new cut titled The Return of Magik (Relapse Records). Sonically, Rwake has always been a band that fits into no specific genre and that is on full display on this newest effort. The musicianship on display only adds to the tremendous songwriting that has this feeling of a grand saga playing out before the listener.

String sections that are as soothing as they are disturbing lead into nightmarish scenes of cosmic dissonance and an underlying feeling that these compositions are the soundtracks to some long-forgotten saga just now being realized again after many years of lying dormant.

This aforementioned genre-blending brings many different elements into play, some expected and some definitely will not be seen coming, but this is at the core of what Rwake is made of. There is an artistic freedom that we very rarely get to see when it comes to the Metal genres. Bands in the vein of Rwake are starting to become more commonplace as they are able to create their niche which has injected the “Metal” genre as a whole with a breath of fresh air.

A perfect example is the use of a lap steel, which in and of itself is totally “Country,” but when presented as such takes the track to a very familiar place that tricks the listener into the feeling that they are in a safe place, for the moment at least.

Couple this approach with a dash of the psychedelic, and things start to approach the cerebral. I sincerely hope it doesn’t take such a long hiatus to produce such sonic creations again but I guess the wait was well worth it!!

Buy the album here:
https://orcd.co/rwake

8 / 10
TORBJORN SOLGARD
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