This Weary Hour (ROI) | ‘No Hand To Comfort You’

Real dark metal is a rare enough thing. It’s never benefitted from easy categorisation the way other genres have, largely because it’s about atmosphere rather than specific playing styles. Trying to hunt it out, even at the best of times, you had to sift through mail order catalogue one-liners deciding what did and didn’t match that elusive thing you were looking for.

Running your finger down the list, seeing who was referenced, it was like a jigsaw. Some band would be on Holy Records - yeah, that band might well fit the bill. Cover art looks evocative and vague - well then, best get it ordered. If I were scouring mail orders the way I used to, This Weary Hour would be the sound I was looking for.

They have so many elements of what makes the real dark metal sound - that thing that’s almost as unique as every band playing it. That said, there is a huge influence (and possibly hidden hand) from Altar Of Plagues here, to the point that This Weary Hour seem to have learned directly from Ireland’s most vital band at the time of writing.

Everything is natural. The guitars contain elements from Virus to Voivod and Isis, while the drums are pure old school My Dying Bride - ‘As The Flower Withers’ has clearly been on this lad’s stereo, given that both the production and the approach is notably similar. This Weary Hour have taken influence from many such important bands, but sound like none in particular. The music is superb for it.

Listening to this excellent demo, what is most impressive is their restraint. They rush nothing. They dwell for precisely the right amount of time, lingering long enough to create vibe and atmosphere without ever boring.

The deep glug of the ‘Frozen’s clean guitar tone recalls earliest Anathema, while the pained oratory over the top of it bodes well both for live delivery and future development. Not for nothing do Primordial command a stage, and if This Weary Hour continue to add this much character to their tracks, they’ll be doing well indeed.

It’s a varied demo showcasing many quintessential elements of the dark metal sound. That’s not easy. It takes a clear idea of what you’re about and some considerable dedication. It’s a lot fucking harder than banging out riffs and growing a chin beard. But hopefully it means they’re in it for the long haul.

Rarely has an Irish demo been awarded an Earl Grey award - in fact short of Lunar Gate and Graveyard Dirt I’m struggling to remember any. This one though receives the award which long in tooth readers will recall as being granted only to cds of surpassing broodiness and melancholy, fit to accompany the turn from summer to autumn, where one’s hand moves almost imperceptibly, yet rightfully, backward across the cd stack from Slayer to Skepticism.

Once again, Wicklow has provided us with an evocative and impressive band to be proud of. Lets hope they follow their apparent mentors in Altar Of Plagues and deliver more the like of this. Get it.

Ciaran Tracey ::: 13/09/09