Ancient VVisdom - A Godlike Inferno (2011)

Occult rock fever -- catch it! This musical movement, if you can even call it that yet, hasn't been this hot since 1969 or thereabouts, and even though its third millennium rebirth was spurred within heavy metal circles by bands such as Blood Ceremony, the Devil's Blood, and Ghost, new converts are seemingly emerging from all points of the musical and literal compass -- even out of hipper-than-thou music towns such as Austin, Texas, as is the case of Ancient VVisdom. Curiously, though, the group's particular interpretation of the form -- described by the band as "diabolical folk rock" -- arguably owes less to Coven, Black Widow, or Comus than it does to '90s goth metal, 2000s blackened folk metal…and Alice in Chains. Superficially at least, the quartet's debut full-length, 2011's Godlike Inferno, puts up a good front, but it doesn't take long for the band's rarely imaginative arrangements, plodding delivery, inexpressive vocals, and cliche-ridden love letters to His Lordship, Lucifer (see "The Opposition" in particular) to start sounding a tad too amateurish for comfort. One of the album's strongest tracks, "Necessary Evil," borrows almost all of its percussively dramatic, gothic folk tricks from Oregonian pagan metal gods Agalloch; another, "VVorld of Flesh," works wonders despite resembling Type O Negative's rewriting Bryan Adam's "Run to You" (or perhaps because of it!!!); yet another, the more surprising than necessarily awesome "Devil Brain," kisses Cantrell and Staley's arses so passionately, even Beelzebub may feel a little jealous. And other listeners may understandably come away disappointed, simply because of the wealth of inspired work being churned out in this arena by some of the artists named above, compared with which Godlike Inferno decidedly sounds more like youthful naivete than true, well, ancient wisdom. Having said that, there are certainly clues contained herein suggesting better things may lie ahead for Ancient VVisdom, if only they keep working at their craft and honing a more unique voice within the occult rock revival.