About.com Rating



Norwegian trio The Wretched End features ex-Emperor guitarist Samoth, ex-Dark Funeral drummer Nils Fjellström and bassist/vocalist Cosmo. The band’s sophomore opus, Inroads, is a musical hybrid of death, thrash and black metal executed exceptionally well.

Those who are familiar with the history of black metal legends Emperor know how influential Samoth and the band were. Samoth’s talents are well-noted and he’s always been able to mix death metal (which he actually came from with Thou Shalt Suffer) and black metal (which he came to be known for in Emperor).


On Inroads, Samoth displays his vast guitar skills and various nuances within his technique. The nine tracks on Inroads are made up of eerie jigs and jags injected with tasteful spurts of melody. There’s some great variation and transition going on within the song structures. The tremolo picking, cold atmospheres and reverb is in true black metal fashion, yet it’s handled with a more modern feel. It’s not all blast beats and high pitched wailings — far from it.

The melodically-driven riff in “Death by Nature” is mixed with typical, cold tremolo black metal riffs, combined with an atypical vocal approach which keeps it fresh and entertaining. Razor sharp picking and some jutting double bass kick drums power “The Haunting Ground,” which is performed with utmost precision. “Fear Propaganda” leans more toward cold black metal riffs while injecting some melody into the proceedings. “Blackthorn Winter” unleashes some epic riffs and pummeling double bass drums.

Overall, the tracks on Inroads are surprisingly well-played and the music is not your typical black metal blueprint.

There’s something here for the thrill seeker in every metalhead.

(released July 3, 2012 through Candlelight Records)



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.