Just two years removed from their smoldering debut, Black Lava are once again ready to erupt. The Savage Winds to Wisdom spills from the band’s sacred cauldron of influences. Blackened countermelodies and hexing prog rhythms boil amidst old-school death metal. Only this time, these Australian sorcerers have added a heavy dose of atmosphere, conjuring medieval fantasies that are bound to whisk metalheads straight into the pit.
The Savage Winds to Wisdom comes out this Friday, July 12 on Season of Mist, but you can get blown away by all nine gale-force songs today by listening to the full album stream on Season of Mist’s YouTube channel.
Listen to The Savage Winds to Wisdom
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Though they formed during pandemic lockdown, Black Lava came together with the ease of a natural stream. When he’s not touring with Ne Obliviscaris, Dan Presland also drums alongside Hadal Maw guitarist Ben Boyle in the labyrinthine all-instrumental band Vipassi. Those two have crossed paths with vocalist Rob Watkins around Melbourne’s metal underground for the past decade. But the band took their time summoning The Savage Winds to Wisdom. It’s not until opener “Colour of Death” has bubbled to a nice, sludgy head that Watkins unleashes the first of his many blood-soaked roars.
“There was greater care taken with the compositions”, Boyle says. “There’s more layering to the riffs and melodies. We called on a more broad list of inspirations and tones to give the album a greater sense of balance while keeping the same attention to detail. The Savage Winds to Wisdom is the kind of album that lends itself to repeat listens”.
“Unsheathing Nightmares” lures you in before hooking its claws into your skull. The drums crash and rumble behind clouds of buzzing distortion, only for a riff to reign down with the crushing force of an executioner. You can practically hear Watkins’ eyes rolling into the back of his head as he calls upon an ancient evil amidst hellish, rain-soaked ambience. “Speak to me, O silent one” .
“I try and stay true to the spirit of metal”, Watkins says about crafting lyrics. “For ‘Ironclad Sarcophagus’, I pictured this ancient wizard sending out evil vibes into the world in hopes of tricking someone into opening his coffin”. The video for the album’s lead single also has more to it than meets the eye. What appears to be just another Satanic ritual turns on a knife’s edge into something even more bloody and sinister.
The Savage Winds to Wisdom swirls with a deeper and darker sense of atmosphere, but the album still cuts all the way to the bone. The towering riff on “Dark Legacy” reigns down nothing but dread. “There’s more depth to this album, but it still stays true to what we set out to do with Black Lava: create heavy, energetic and catchy tunes that make our listeners feel powerful”.
Winding over the course of seven eventful minutes, the title track is big enough to stand as its own mythical kingdom. Stirred by a screeching solo from Ne Obliviscaris’ Ben Baret, the song whirls into a torrential finale that makes The Savage Winds to Wisdom a perfect storm of blackened, groove-laden heavy metal.
“We sharpened our tools with this album”, Black Lava says. “The Savage Winds to Wisdom is a step up in all aspects. We went a little more dark and brutal and that’s exactly where we want to take our music”.
