Band: WAXEN
Country: USA
Title: Blasphemer in Celestial Courts
Label: Moribund Records
Year: 2019
Style: Black Metal

Review:
Black Metal based on shred guitar music is something you definitely expect when you hear the name Toby Knapp, and Waxen is another and maybe the best known of his various projects delivering exactly that on its fifth studio album: a mix of instrumental shredding guitar music with Black Metal vocals and some Black Metal riffing as well. It sounds weird, but at the same time captivating, and if you're into virtuoso guitar sounds you'll probably enjoy this one although the Black Metal shrieks are very abrasive for the untrained ears. My biggest problem with this album are not the vocals (although I'm not a fan of them either) but the soulless drum machine, unfortunately I can't stand that clicking sound in Waxen's music, I would have enjoyed it way better with a real drummer, but obviously I understand if Toby found noone to take care of that part and decided to release the album anyway, after all the attention is on his guitar skills. 6 tracks clocking a bit over half an hour, an interesting journey through (mostly) fast paced, melodic and intricate guitar work of the highest class in a weird combination with Black Metal patterns; Toby Knapp proves once again he's not willing to go unnoticed into the "classic" Prog Metal scene but rather prefers to experiment as much as possible and that may well turn him into legend!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
facebook.com/Waxen-510997875753080
moribundcult.com