DEATHWHITE
Grey Everlasting
SEASON OF MIST
8/10
FOREBODING GLOOM AND DOOM: There are so many adjectives one could use to describe Deathwhite’s latest offering, Grey Everlasting. It’s menacing and morose, captivating and ominous, alluring and gloomy, cacophonous and grave. Combining the worlds of dark, goth, extreme, thrash, doom, and melodic death metal, Deathwhite delivers a thoroughly exhausting emotional thrill ride on Grey Everlasting, their third full-length release.
Building upon where they left off on 2020’s Grave Image, Deathwhite provides their best album yet in Grey Everlasting. “Earthtomb” and “No Thought or Memory” plunge listeners directly into the sonic deep end of Deathwhite—atmospheric sonicscapes filled with fervent percussion laced with penetrating double bass fills, ardent guitar riffs, and ethereal, haunting vocals. On the contrary, the Type O Negative influence can be felt up and down “Quietly, Suddenly” and the subsequent title track, though you’re quickly returned to choppy waters once again on “White Sleep,” one of the album’s heaviest tracks. “So We Forget” effectively combines all of those elements, pulling listeners down deep into the murky waters of Grey Everlasting.
Deathwhite saves some of their best for last in the penultimate “Blood and Ruin,” one of the albums most powerful tracks, one that steadily builds before cresting, crashing, and exploding in a wave of thunderous drums, dissonant cymbal crashes, and hefty, towering riffs, and the closing “Asunder” stomps and plods with a deafening thump fueled by monstrous guitars and even more booming, rolling drum work, sending the listener off in proper fashion. Hopefully, you’re not too tired out at this point because this last track will surely have you headbanging along.
Grey Everlasting is a much tighter listen than their previous releases, an album that’s less prone to song bleed and sonic wandering over the course of its 48 minutes. The album starts and finishes strong, making for the most enjoyable listening experience of this bands young career. ~ Brian Campbell
