Januaryo Hardy is involved in several different bands, but his two main projects are Perverted Dexterity and Pure Wrath. Today we focus on the latter. In stark contrast to most of his other work, this band plays atmospheric black metal. I’ve been a fan of theirs since the release of their first full-length back in 2017. I love their ability to combine ferocity with beautiful atmosphere. Back in February of this year, they released their third full-length Hymn to the Woeful Hearts, and I am of the opinion that it’s their strongest album to date.
First of all, the production is much more powerful. Everything sounds mightier, grander, and more epic. Musically, the formula is the same as their previous two albums: fast and aggressive black metal with a fantastic sense of atmosphere that glorifies nature. The drums play almost constant blast beats that sound like rumbling thunderstorms. In between these are sections where he plays galloping double bass. Sometimes they’ll play simple mid-paced rhythms as well as a few more interesting arrangements, such as military style drum rolls.
Hardy’s black metal shrieks have become more refined over the years. They express equal parts rage and anguish. He then makes things interesting by performing clean vocals on songs like “Footprints of the Lost Child”. The guitars have always been the strongest part of the music, and this album is no exception. They mainly play fast-paced, energetic tremolo riffs that are imbued with wondrous, sweeping melodies. Such melodies are also present in the mid-paced chord progressions. The band then adds even more flavor by including clean guitar passages and airy ambient keyboards.
Once again, Pure Wrath has recorded something incredible. Every new album he puts out gets better and better. I know he’ll plateau at some point like all other artists, but seeing how amazing he is now, it’s a certainty his future releases will be phenomenal.