Album review: Wren – Black Rain Falls

Flowers Of Earth, the opening tune on London quartet Wren’s new album, makes it pretty clear what the listener is in for throughout Black Rain Falls. Eight minutes of slow, crushing riffs, hoarse vocals that channel despair and fury in equal measure and suffocatingly tense atmospherics, this track sets out their dark materials in no uncertain terms.

If the spectre of Neurosis hangs heavily (in every sense) over proceedings, Wren certainly demonstrate an understanding of what made their ancestors such an elemental force. Black Rain Falls is the point where their decade-plus of experience coalesces into a record that casts them amongst the most gifted post-metal bands of their generation.

Key here is their ability to draw out variety in what is sometimes in danger of being a rather formulaic genre. Toil In The Undergrowth – another eight-minute monster – takes its time with a lengthy intro of shimmering slowcore; similarly, Precede The Flint prioritises a patient build-up that only enhances the potency of its eventual gear change.

On the other end of the spectrum, Betrayal Of The Self and Scorched Hinds are comparatively concise blasts of noise rock, all jagged basslines and strident, chunky guitar. If the latter tune channels a little Godflesh in its relentlessness, Metric Of Grief calls back to another iconic influence, its balance of rhythmic, martial repetition and parched melodic touches reminiscent of Swans’ 21st century return.

Black Rain Falls feels like something of a comeback for Wren too, a cathartic wrestle with grief on both a personal and global level. If they’ve passed you by in the past, this is a perfect way to get acquainted with their bleak brilliance.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Neurosis, Amenra, Isis

Black Rain Falls is out now via Church Road