Review: Wake – Devouring Ruin

Style: black metal, technical death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: any kind of extreme music
Review by: Dylan
Country: Canada
Release date: 27 March 2020

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the March 2020 Part 3 issue of The Progressive Subway.]

There’s something that happens to me very often with extreme music, and that is that I can absolutely love an album yet have very little to say about it. And with Wake, it’s no exception.

This Canadian group have outdone themselves by making an album that blends in elements of most extreme genres. While at first glance it will seem like another death/doom release, there’s layers of black metal (with frequent use of tremolo picking and blast beats that go alongside it) and even grindcore (with segments matching the sheer chaos the genre is known for).

… and there’s really not much more I can tell you about the technical aspects. I just now that I really, REALLY like this album. It’s well thought out, has great production values, is replayable as hell, and is just overall, a banging good time. If you need a track to convince you, look no further than “Torchbeather”, a track with a tremolo riff so catchy that it’s stuck in my head like the chorus to a pop song.

Wake have done something amazing here. Don’t sleep on it.

Recommended tracks: Kana Tevoro, Torchbearer
You may also like: Warforged, Will ‘o’ Wisp, Dawn of Nil
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Translation Loss Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Wake is:
– Kyle Ball (vocals)
– Arjun Gills (guitars)
– Rob LaChance (guitars)
– Ryan Kennedy (bass)
– Josh Brueckert (drums)