Review Summary: False Light just might be their most realized effort so far.
Having secured a reputation as one of the most innovative bands in black metal, White Ward’s third full-length further refines their signature mix of blackgaze and dark jazz. 2019’s Love Exchange Failure broadened the Ukrainians’ scope and False Light continues in much of the same fashion with similar contrasts between blasting segments and saxophone-driven meandering against a dreary urban backdrop. However, there are enough forward developments to keep this from feeling like a retread.
For starters, this album sees the musicians putting even greater emphasis on more melodic segments. Clean vocals from a variety of guest performers are abundant along with heightened synths and the production seems to have a bit more polish while still maintaining the atmosphere. There’s also more room devoted to exploring genres beyond their usual blend; “Salt Paradise” is a fantastic excursion into neofolk with its subdued acoustic foundation and building textures while flashes of goth rock influence get their chance to shine on the driving “Cronus.” There’s also no denying the simple jazz pleasure on a track like the three-minute “Echoes in Eternity” and “Downfall.”
But while the band devotes more time to their less extreme side, there are still a couple black metal behemoths lingering about that allow their heavier moments to be some of their most aggressive to date. The guitars seem to have more weight than before, leaning decidedly more on the post-metal end with their bottom-heavy sludge while still maintaining their tremolo bursts and morose leads. A couple songs even venture into doom territory as the extended crawls that start the beginning of “Phoenix” and define “Silence Circles” remind me of REZN with their similar marriage of saxophone laments and fuzz riffs.
Overall, White Ward’s third album is another high-quality step in a powerful trajectory. False Light shares many of the tropes that defined their previous releases, but it feels like the songwriting comes with more nuance this time around. The structures go deeper than the rigid heavy-soft contrasts and there’s a lot of room devoted to exploring genres beyond their usual jazzy blackgaze. It’s easy to imagine the possibility of White Ward going even further into these excursions. In the meantime, False Light just might be their most realized effort so far.
