WRVTH formed in 2007, and underwent two name changes (THE WRATH OF VESUVIUS) and (WRATH OF VESUVIUS). Vesuvius is a volcano in Italy, but the band hails from San Jose, California, USA. In 2015, they changed their name to WRVTH and released their third, self-titled album. Today, I have the pleasure of listening to their fourth, titled "No Rising Sun," which contains ten tracks.

"Eventide" leads us off, with opening eerie tones. A light guitar riff comes in from there, but you can hear ominous tones building in the background. I appreciate the distinctness of the bass guitar here. The vocals are throaty and earnest, and would probably wake the dead in a cemetery one by one. "Pirouette of Hysterics" opens with a solid scream and fast moving guitars, and then drops to breathe. I like the combination of sounds presented here...it's very original. Genre wise I am not sure what I would label this as. There are Progressive elements, Core elements, and Technical elements, and they work together as two Samba dancers in perfect steps.

"Calcified to Stone" is a quick one-and-a-half minutes, featuring some pretty lead guitar notes and absolutely anguished vocals. The stark contrast is what intrigues me most. "House of the Centenary" opens full bore, with angry vocals and guitars and drums right up in your face. Through the chaos there is structure, and it's dark and deepening. The sound drops around the half way mark, to bass guitar and drums, before picking up slowly with guitars and vocals. It segues into "Undertow," which opens with a slow and dreamy structure. It waxes and wanes, teetering on the very edge of the Underworld. Pretty piano notes are slaughtered by incensed vocals. Then, it ends on an ambient passage that is nothing short of beautiful. "Enshrined" opens with mysterious clean guitar notes and that feeling that something is watching you in the dark. Lead guitar notes provide an eerie streak in the song, which hits full sound about a third of the way in. It takes some twists and turns along the way, before ending on a powerful sequence.

"Headstones" opens with caution and easy listening tones before the rage hits. It hits hard, and the song has a depressing quality to it as well...a hopelessness that is not easily forgotten. "Dust and Moonlight" opens with harmonic clean guitars. It's the longest song on the album, clocking in at over nine minutes. While the clean guitars carry on, the vocals rage in the background. At around the half way mark, distorted guitars join with the vocals in a depressive sound. It has a deadly bite at around the ¾ mark, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and then you're down.

"Abstraction" has tense guitar tones and vocals from the start. The sound pummels you into submission...never letting up. This song has a straight up Black Metal sound to it, especially if you consider the vocal delivery. It segues into the final track, titled "Furrows of a Dying Tree," which opens with a slow and depressive sound, with raging vocals. It's as it the life is being sucked out of you along with your soul...gone forever. Overall, this was a fascinating album with a lot of diversity in sound, morphing in and around genre labels while avoiding being tagged. With a gun to my head I would say it's rooted in Black Metal, but it's so much more than that. Intelligent songwriting and an unconventional approach to their music makes for a harrowing but very enjoyable listening experience.