Watain – Sworn to the Dark
The Ajna Offensive – flame42 – February 19, 2007
By Jason Jordan
Coming off a four-year silence, Sweden’s
Watain have returned with their powerful third full-length
Sworn to the Dark. Unsurprisingly,
SttD shares traits with the output of other Ajna Offensive signings
Antaeus,
Deathspell Omega, and
Funeral Mist, but also brings to mind fellow Swedes
Dissection. Again, that’s understandable because many of these groups share members so that influences can’t help but bleed into one another, though arguably, out of all the bands listed above,
Watain may be the most variable in their BM approach.
The word on the street, or on the Internet rather, is that
Sworn to the Dark is boring, and while it has its lowlights and also demands at least
some concentrated listening, it’s far from bad. As a matter of opinion, the highlights are excellent. The fury of
DsO-like
‘Legions of the Black Light’ is surely a riff-tastic song, while
Immortal/
Dissection-esque follower
‘Satan’s Hunger’ is rhythmically unmatched by anything else the trio bring to the table. What sucks, though, is that even as early as the second track, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain fully attentive, and the one-minute instrumental
‘Withershins’ only exacerbates the problem. So by the time you reach
‘Storm of the Light’s Ban…er, Antichrist’ you’re hoping for more than the blasting that occurs, despite its viciousness. The groove-heavy
‘The Light That Burns the Sun’ comes across well, as does the slightly overdone title track, which resembles present-day
Satyricon due to repetition in the lyrical department.
Watain are at their peak when they slow it down like on the epic
‘The Serpent’s Chalice.’ The inclusion of second instrumental
‘Dead but Dreaming’ isn’t needed, however, since the disc, at 58 minutes, is so long in the first place. Still,
‘Stellarvore’ closes the album in true climactic fashion.
When they’re at their slowest,
Mortuus best them. When they’re at their fastest,
Antaeus beat them.
Watain are most enjoyable when traversing the middle ground, and
Sworn to the Dark features enough of that to receive a thumbs up from me. Aside from its flaws,
Sworn is a solid BM record that is neither the best nor worst that The Ajna Offensive holds within its fold.
Official Watain Website
Official The Ajna Offensive Website
