Review by Alex on July 1, 2020.

If Sinister were to stop making music then Uerberos would probably be the ones to pick up the torch set-down given how close they sound to the Dutch death metal demons. With some black metal patrolling the outskirts of the death metal territory, Stand Over Your Grave is the band's 2nd full length, and coming from Poland and knowing how crushing death metal from the area is, there was no debating whether or not it was worth a dive.

Usually not a supporter of such clean production in metal and death metal specifically, though there are some exceptions. Uerberos is one, their technique is crazy good, hence the clear sound does not hinder the tunes. From the first notes played on 'Levitation', you could tell a sonic storm was in the making. Greeting the listener with assertive blast beats, ape-strong riffing and a vile vocal presence as though vomiting mucous, this track makes a serious first impression on the listener, thus warranting a thorough play-through. First impressions are very important, and given the production is this sparkling it would only be fitting that Uerberos make most of this to demonstrate their musical skill. But it doesn't end there, as the band adequately follows-up the opening show of hostility with a limb-tearing, mutilating piece called 'Ruthless Execution'. Get ready to fuck shit up, the riffing, the drumming, the vocals, the sheer presence of violence radiating here is insane and only fortifies the posture of this Polish pummeling labelled Stand Over Your Grave.

By now I figure you want more of their metal madness, then check out one of the best entries on this ball of fucking biological disdain, 'Beautiful Crimson of Your Blood'. Stripped, gagged, starved and beaten like a pinata, kerosene is poured on the flames. Drums hit like an avalanche of stones, a vocal dictatorship hovers over the listener like a dreadnought and the riffs swarm you like a thousand wasps. Thus Stand Over Your Grave refuses to tone-down anything; through and through you're given the most obliterating pieces of music composed by the band, obliging you to listen to the whole fucking album. This madness is gladness, 'Flaming Darkness', 'Stand Over Your Grave' and 'To Make You Suffer!' sustain the vitriol with a shift in tempo applied delicately with the guitar leads serving-up some of the catchiest and meanest strings on Stand Over Your Grave. And with those black metal chord progressions occurring frequent enough, it's nearly impossible for the music to stagnate.

Lots of movement happening on Stand Over Your Grave; this helps in avoiding repetition and eventually boredom. This kind of thing can get overlooked easily, however, if the band is this good at driving their message with such precision, mastery and consistency then there's nothing to fear. Something about Polish death metal and black metal that hits you right in the guts; their sound comes across as being cloaked in some sort of thickening, claustrophobic dark matter and the effects of experiencing some of the most hazardous winter seasons, give their music a toughened texture, a monstrous amassing of sonicism if anything. Listen to the way Stand Over Your Grave closes, 'Emperor' plays like it's dancing atop your vanquished body, stomping on your carrion remorselessly, this track is the summation of the musical-massacre experienced on the record. Vocals project vilification vibrantly with venom, riffs relentlessly rip-apart the ribcage and the drumming strikes with a cutthroat mentality.

Stand Over Your Grave is an overdose of extreme inoculations, developed to decompose and destroy. Out on Godz of War Productions July 6th 2020; get torched!!!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Tomek on December 5, 2017.

Music comes to us from all places on this planet. Sometimes it’s a place next door, and sometimes it’s a place that you cannot even point on the map. South Africa is well known in the world for many different reasons, but black metal is not one of them. Not for me at least. Wildernessking is an atmospheric black metal band from that part of the world; they have a couple of EP’s and one other full length under their belt. I do not know much of their history and do not know much about their previous releases, but what I have in my player is their latest release called Mystical Future, and this is what I would like to talk about today.

Listening to the album for the last couple of weeks made me realize how incredibly captivating their art is. On one hand, we have a typical black metal harshness with angry, riff driven attack, intense and unforgiving, exploding right in your face; and on the other, there are these dramatic, serene and harmonious passages that are amazingly captivating in their progressive nature. The one thing that stays unchanged and clamps those two together is the vocals that remain radically black metal and rarely stray away from its torturous form. The whole album continues to grow in front of your eyes and it’s constructed to be in ever-changing form, to keep the listener not only interested - but also on their toes. Moving trough cleverly unpredictable arrangements, Widernessking stages memorable haunting sections intertwined with impressively dense and ripping black metal plunges that keep big hooks in our flesh. The more you listen - the more they dig in. The more they dig in - the more gets uncovered. The more gets uncovered - the more you fall in. It’s like a circle of madness. And then there’s production - which is another element that adds many levels of sophistication to this album. Spaciousness of the album sound makes aggressive viciousness of intense black metal mesh and balance with atmospheric segments and abrasive vocals, creating steadiness and stability throughout whole album. Mystical Future is an album demanding attention and time but once understood it is incredibly satisfying.

Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions is responsible for introducing Wildernessking newest not only to the world, but also to yours truly - and at this moment, I would like to thank those guys for sending the materials my way. It is vastly appreciated and I commend you on a job well done. For those of you that are going to look for physical release - please note that there are two different artworks that you may be looking at depending on whether you’ll be buying CD or vinyl. Black and white shape or outline of a person (CD) or landscape of the mountains (vinyl) would be what you’ll be looking at. In either case, the album will take you on a journey that will be fascinating in its uplifting and yet challenging form. Be ready for it, give it time and simply explore. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10