Review: Rwake ‘The Return Of Magik’

Arkansas sludge doom legends Rwake have always been a little different from their more caustic and heavy brothers in the genre, taking a bit more of an experimental and progressive journey through their discography so far, leaving behind a couple of classic records in their, er, (r)wake. Thankfully, there will be no more jokes. It has been a long time since 2011’s Rest, and the band were long overdue a follow up, which has come at last in the form of The Return Of Magick, which is out now through Relapse Records.

Sludge doom legends they may be, but Rwake have never been a band who feels like they are comfortable in their own sound. Their albums have always been an experience wrought through pain and suffering but also given so much life and variety within that. The Return Of Magik is no exception, with a couple of double-digit runtimes to really drive those big doom riffs into your brain.

Opener You Swore We’d Always Be Together shows that fourteen years may have passed since their last full-length, but it hasn’t blunted Rwake‘s ability to write some earth shuddering riffs. You are led into the album with glorious pastoral acoustic guitar, shattering by a wail of feedback and then lurching slabs of riff start to crumble down into the crushing oblivion awaiting us all. There are a lot of moments where the spaces open up and the melodic work really comes to the fore, but the core sound is still ‘Mastodon-on-heroin’, no matter how soulful the soloing becomes.

fourteen years may have passed since their last full-length, but it hasn’t blunted Rwake’s ability to write some earth shuddering riffs…

New guitarist Austin Sublett is really showcased with his shredding solos howling through the murky ambience. The title track veers between post metal majesty and an almost blackened hardcore bark, making its twelve-minute run time seem almost imperceptible, while With Stardust Flowers swoons with Neurosis-esque riffs, another killer solo and an almost apocalyptic sermon.

The dual vocal approach gives both C.T. and Brittany and space to flex their respective lungs, wringing savagery and beauty from the aether that swirls around the likes of Distant Constellations And The Psychedelic Incarceration. This is a record that is so engrossing, with its shifts from almost progressive-leaning post-sludge into caustic fury and out into almost atmospheric black metal moments. As Φ closes us out with more of that gloriously moody acoustic guitar, that has the most delicate southern twang to it, you get the merest hints of Rwake‘s heritage.

After such a prolonged period of time away, there is always a fear that a band’s new work will be either a complete left turn or a disappointment, but The Return Of Magick is just that; a spectacular piece of genre redefining work from Rwake. It’s possibly their strongest work since 2004’s If You Walk Before You Crawl, You Crawl Before You Die, and it gives us all a reason to fall in love with this band once more. Rwake have taken sludge and post-metal into a totally new stratosphere here, a complex and nuanced album that will really sit with you for a long time.

Label: Relapse Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Sandy Williamson