Waylander | ‘Honour Amongst Chaos’
It’s a wonder Waylander are still going. Despite every possible opportunity to keep a solid lineup, they’ve managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of stability time and again. Ten years into their potted history then comes album number three; and they’ll be hoping to reclaim some of the affection their debut still manages to stoke.
There’s no doubt that the frankly gobsmacking art that graces this cd will entice many throughout the continent and beyond to pick this up. But the fact remains that we at home know the band rather differently. Their galvanising quality at gigs often overlooks ropey delivery on their part and total inebriation on the crowd’s. Yet each time, when all’s said and done, the proof has been in the pudding. So forget the tin whistle - the permanent ability to charm has been their true consummately Irish trait.
Anyway, first off, it’s great to hear Den Ferrran (from ‘Rewakening’) back on the kit. Despite the merits of previous incumbents, the band lost alot when he first went, and his tight double kick and rock solid thrash education are more than welcome back. His return, and that of other new members, has led to a more invigorating album across the board. Their last full length contained one or two genuinely well written tunes (’Morrigan’s Domain’), but was ponderous and limp. Thankfully matters are righted here, with everything from blastbeats downward reinstated.
The opening doesnt bode well: ‘As The Deities Clash’ and ‘Walk With Honour’ are more or less disposable, with some easily curable flaws apparent to a musical ear. Luckily though, I’d contend that this album only really starts with the massive ‘Beyond The Ninth Wave’, kicking this in good and proper. It’s varied, suitably grandiose in places, and with a class they’ve been striving for for years.
Despite its name (an emerging sense of self parody, perhaps?), ‘Galloping Gaels’ is another winner. Lashings of double kick, a scream along chorus and a vintage Irish guitar melody all contribute to as good a piece of pagan metal as any. What’s cool about several of these tracks is the would-be celtic melancholy of the intros. The band have been smart in not overegging them - and let’s face it they could have - plus they usually slam back into the metal with reasonable gusto. Fair enough.
As ever, you can take or leave the flute. It never appealed to everyone and it’s never going to. So where does that leave us with one of the few Irish exports we’re still possessed of? Well, better than we were a year ago. ‘Honour Amongst Chaos’ is a decent, if neither refined nor evocative, album of good thumping metal tunes with a celtic lineage that (mercifully) hasn’t hammed up. They’ve evidently learned from past mistakes and kept the blarney to a minimum, because to their credit, the focus here is good old underground extremity.
So good work then. A few rough edges still need ironing out, where a few really means a lot. On the other hand if they’re delivering a set of this album’s standard to festivals across Europe, then more power to their elbow. The force of the blasts in ‘To Dine In The Otherworld’ and the dark speed of ‘Usurpers Of Our Legacy’ are very, very hard to argue with, and overall contribute to making this a decent purchase for fans of the genre. Fantastic pieces, these two in particular, that if you pardon the ham, most certainly reawake pride once lost. Ultimately then, despite the reservations attendant upon this whole style of music, it’s worthy of its artwork - and as you can see, that’s saying a fair bit.
3.7 / 5 - Ciaran Tracey ::: 03/08/08