WIDOWER is a Blackened Thrash Metal band based out of Austin, Texas, USA. Formed in 2011, this is the band's third EP, and contains five tracks. Judging from "Morose Delectation," I am mostly hearing Black Metal, perhaps with a little more guitar presence and faster pacing, which does bring in some Thrash metal elements. The vocals are purely Black however, with high pitched, echoing wails. The genre itself is very diverse as I have discovered lately, and this falls into the more traditional side of how Black Metal sounded as it was being formed in the earlier years. "Immortal Lament" is pretty close to the same structure and pacing as the previous track, though there are some varied vocal approaches here, pushing a bit closer to Thrash Metal. "Unholy Force" has a bit of a more traditional Thrash Metal type of riff and sound and some heavy accents that give it some deeper power. The riff change and guitar solo towards the end are a nice touch as well.
 
"The Council" has a fairly easy riff with obligatory pig-squeals and is the song with the least amount of total sound on the EP. At the point in the listen it is obvious that they are not going to branch out much, but focus on sticking with the core of their sound. "Whore Crusher" closes the album, with a galloping rhythm and hastened pace. It kind of reminds me of some old school Black/Thrash that you might hear from VENOM. Overall I didn't find much on the EP to really champion, as the tracks tended to be too homogenous and did not deviate from the central sound much at all. It's honest, well played Metal but perhaps not overly well composed. I'm not expecting a ton of experimentation from the Thrash genre in general, but the Black Metal genre has certainly stepped up its game lately, and I think this could have as well.
 
Songwriting                6


Production                 5