Old Wainds – Religion of Spiritual Violence

Not long ago we have reviewed a debut album, Where the Snows are Never Gone, and a third full-length instalment Scalding Coldness, by Russian black metal band Old Wainds. The time has come now to give their second full-length, Religion of Spiritual Violence a few spins.

Religion of Spiritual Violence was initially released in now far 2001, at the same time as we have begin working on this fanzine. Many things have happened in the world of (black) metal since the the beginning of a new millennium, but my admiration for the harsh, freezing and raw still remains. The same obviously goes for Darkness Shall Rise Productions as they’ve specialized in re-releasing and remastering some of these old gems.

Old Wainds and its sophomore eight-tracker full-length Religion of Spiritual Violence are the most verifiable proof of this claim. It is still considered and celebrated as a cult classic of the genre, and for some reason my favourite among the three re-releases by Old Wainds. I would like to praise the album’s harsh and freezing atmosphere, delivering an intense and more fast-paced materials compared to its predecessor or the follower.

The lyrics are again in their native Russian-language, although the translation of it has been printed inside the booklet. Religion of Spiritual Violence is very much intense and fast-paced material with the atmosphere evoking this bleak and unforgiving nature of the Russian north and the region of Murmansk. Meanwhille, the biggest asset of this album is the striking balance between abarasive blast beats, melodic tremolo riffing and the harsh and uncompromising vocals, snarled snarled entirely in Cyrillic/Russian. The incluson of Russian-language lyrics adds a bit more mysticism and extra layer of aggression that sets it apart from traditional Scandinavian black metal.

With improved sound quality, this record sounds modern, and a big improvement for the band, at least when compared to its debut and earlier demo materials. Thus, one can say that Religion of Spiritual Violence represents a significant step up in terms of both songwriting and production quality, while retaining those ferocious elements.

Two standout tracks from this frostbitten black metal classic, in my opinion are; “The One ‘Holy’ Dead” which showcases the band’s trademark subarctic chill and excellent riffing, and a track named “Unholy Nordic Metal”, being the biggest representative of the band’s raw and hate-filled approach.

I find the cover art fascinating once again, featuring the band’s minimalist, grim aesthetic, freezing frost-bitten landscapes, and bleak occult imagery representative of the northern Russian wastelands of Murmansk.

If you demand your (black) metal barbaric, sincere, cold and intense, then Religion of Spiritual Violence is a mandatory possession. I am confident that black metal purists, and fans of a raw, intense and atmospheric black metal acts such as Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal and Ildjarn will find it interesting and worth of another spin.

Religion of Spiritual Violence is available with a complete restored layout on LP (250 copies on classic black vinyl and 250 copies on galaxy red black vinyl with gatefold sleeve and A2 poster) and on cassette, digi CD and digital formats. For further information on this re-issue of the second full-length from an unholy Nordic black metal trio from Murmansk visit DSR bandcamp.