With thirteen years under their belt already as an active musical entity, England’s traditional Black Metal outfit Torver has finally emerged with a debut album. The band’s years together have seen the release of one demo tape and their contributions to five split releases. This record, which is entitled ‘Witching Hour’ features ten tracks and a runtime of fifty-one minutes. Now, let us tread into the cold nocturnal wilderness that this quartet of mystical ghouls has unveiled.
Immediately evident is the devotion to the tendencies of traditional Black Metal with a higher-fidelity sheen of production paintwork. The drums feature a lovely spacious tonality reminiscent of classic Emperor and the vocal styles range from croaky growls to gothic/vampiric speak-singing allá many a Cradle of Filth release (albeit with a touch less dramatic flamboyance). One instrumental addition that I find has been implemented particularly well are the string sections. I love how they sit within the mix, maintaining a natural sounding clarity without becoming buried underneath the dirtier grit of the more conventional instrumentation. The atmosphere of the record also deserves a mention, on the album’s opening instrumental ‘Prelude to Nightfall’ storm sounds arise shortly before the strings and I like how this moment hints towards the record’s tonality. Other atmospheric additions of the album include wolf howls, synth keys, acoustic guitar picking, and various moments of polished instrumental interludes that rarely outstay their welcome.
‘Apotheosis’ is a great track. I like the string melody that appears during the song’s opening, the interplay between the dirty vocals and the clean singing during the very catchy and mournful chorus. ‘Where Angels Fear to Tread and Walk Alone’ indulges in speak-singing declarations and numerous small choir embellishments. The song’s progressive Black Metal instrumentation compliments the vocal focus on this cut and ultimately, this feels like the most intentionally theatrical song on the tracklist. Track nine ‘A Shield of Polished Silver’ is an eight minute epic that runs the full gamut of sounds that Torver has to offer on this album. The song’s opening two minutes offers some of the most furious material on the album before the compositional approach moves through various phases involving melodic lead guitar trails, enchanting vocal lines and an acoustic detour. It’s my favourite song on the album.
Any listeners who dabble with the flair of classic Emperor, Dissection, or Cradle of Filth will easily unearth the merits of Witching Hour. It’s an album that wears its inspirational heart on its sleeve, and its conventional essence of sound deduces that it is by no means a particularly original Black Metal LP. What it is, however, is an objectively fun time. This record is well produced and reasonably well written and performed. Its biggest strength lies in its ability to walk through some of the most well trodden and familiar paths of the genre’s history whilst remaining an entertaining nod to the past throughout.
