Wingless - Ascension

Wingless is a death/doom band from Poland, who released their first album back in 2014.  Their latest album, “Ascension,” is their fifth full-length album.

This is my first time hearing the band’s music but it immediately grabbed my attention.  Their brand of death metal contains a lot of doom influences but they aren’t afraid to play mid-paced or even speed the tempo up even further.  The atmosphere is dirty, grimy and quite cavernous, which is the three things you want to hear in doomed out death metal.  

The rhythm section is very strong—the bass is like a tank, it rumbles along every forward and shakes the ground the entire time.   The drums are more intricate than I thought they would be–it isn’t nonstop blast beats or playing as fast as possible.  There is much care and concern placed upon the drums and the songs are all the better for it.

The guitars are varied; everything dense and miserable to groove can be found here, giving the songs more variety and dynamics than I anticipated.   The vocals are excellent, perfect example of how to deliver a deep death growl that’s still intelligible to a degree. 

The album opens with “The Ascension (after the Light)” which starts off with murky, clean tones that quickly develop into a low rumble.  The riffs sound unstoppable—and they are.  Around the 1:25 mark, a crushing groove develops and sends the band into a frenzy of double bass.  The mid-segment is slightly melodic, or what amounts to melody for this band.  It’s just enough to highlight the crushing misery.

“The Soul Raiser,” and it’s cacophony of drums get the song off to a harrowing start.  The cadence of the vocals against the riffs is like a death march.  The solo is simple but well integrated into the song, highlighting the music around it while adding it’s own layers. Near the end of the song, the lead guitar once again brings the doom while the rest of the band hammers the song into oblivion.

WINGLESS speeds up the tempo for “Stronger Than Death,” which is fast and loose in the beginning then tightens up for a mid-paced groove afterwards. The drums are the MVP of the song, when they focus up the energy and oppressive heaviness become palpable. 

The album is consistent all the way though, as the final half the album showcases.  “Only The Graves Will Remain,” is a straight up banger with a lot of old school fervor.  The bass and drums put it all out on the line with a sterling performance that is as towering as the guitars are dense and dark. 

The final song, “Into The Unknown,” is a creepy and unnerving outro.  After the brutality of the first eight tracks, this might come off as a respite but it only further pulls the mind apart, not allowing the brain to truly understand what it just heard. 

Wingless’ “Ascension,” is a nice mid-year surprise for me and it made me a fan of the band.  Anyone a fan of dismal and despondent death metal or extreme doom will find nothing to complain about here and get an album that is worth jamming many times.