Band – Glyph
Album – odes of wailing, hymns of mourning
Country of Origin – USA
Genre – Black Metal
Release Date – June 7, 2024
Label – Shape of Storms Records/Fiadh Productions/WereGnome Records
Author – Hayduke X
The new Glyph full length, “odes of wailing, hymns of mourning,” starts off with a bang, as you can hear below through the stream of the opening track Of The Caverns below. The track is transcendently haunting, viciously vital. The Keeper of the Glyph shapes raw aggression to his purposes here, with waves of raw tremolo over thundering bass, and obliterating drums. And remember, this track is only the beginning. Jump below the player for my full review.
It is hopefully clear to all regular readers that I am a longtime fan of this anonymous project. A year and a half ago, I sang the praises of “The Time of Peril” and was also fortunate enough to have a conversation with the Keeper himself. You can read that here. I was tuned into this project long before that, however, so I’m thrilled to be able to bring you news of this latest release. “odes of wailing, hymns of mourning” is probably my favorite Glyph release yet. The rich bleakness of the album is immersive. So many black metal projects rely on sparseness in their sound. Glyph makes the opposite decision, proving that raw black metal can work very, very well with a full sound.
The promotional materials I received from Shape of Storms Records state the reality of this album well, and are worth quoting verbatim:
It’s been over a year since the last full length “a time of peril” and the two singles only hinted at what is contained here. Eight tracks of menacing atmospheric black metal, both discordant and driving and almost cathartic as the 35 minutes come to an end. A record well crafted and full of intent, informed by pain and triumph both. There is a sorrow here, pinning the songs into place, but yet one gets the impression that hope lives behind the maelstrom herein. This record is Glyph stretching its wings, flying directly into the sun.
The palette used by the Keeper for this release includes hints of melodicism, dissonance, blackgaze, and more, all patiently layered, built upon, and then transformed from one track to the next. Through my many listens to “odes of wailing, hymns of mourning,” I have found that where this album starts is not where it ends. I’m not musician enough (or at all) to know if there are actual progressive elements at play here, in a technical musical sense, but the album certainly progresses. The evolution happens bit by bit, piece by piece, almost under the radar, and all in service to the ‘stretching of wings, to fly into the sun.’
This masterpiece, available to pre-order now, is being presented by Shape of Storms Records in a bone white/black, ‘A-side, B-side’ effect vinyl with a full color jacket, a heavyweight insert, and a download card, in a run of 250 (pictured below). WereGnome Records is doing a limited cassette run of 65 copies with a full color j-card pad printed or sticker on shell. Watch that site for further details. Fiadh Productions will have a run of 30 CDs with a full color wallet gatefold.
Don’t miss out on this black metal masterpiece. Pre-order today!
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
