Album Review: Wren – Black Rain Falls (Church Road Records)

London based experimental sludge/post-metal band Wren will release their third full-length album, ‘Black Rain Falls’ on the 21st of February 2025 via Church Road Records.

An album about grief. An album about loss. While the theme inherent throughout the album is the shared grief of the band members having lost a close friend to suicide, it’s one that everyone can relate to in some way or another. To be human is to suffer loss, and all of us will go through the grieving period at one time or another.

With that, of course, comes a tsunami of feeling distorted by heavy sounds. Not just experimental, but dark, moody, and mean, to some degree. That’s just the sound of sludge, especially one crossed with post metal ideology, and shaped by creatives who clearly set no boundaries when it came to crafting this record. It creates pressure from the start, the breath being squeezed out as Flowers of Earth goes through different stages and sees Wren approach rhythm and structure with a laborious state of mind. They have plenty to say, there’s simply no rush.

It leaves an impression, especially from a disconcerting angle, and that only grows in strength with the first couple of minutes that await listeners on Toil in the Undergrowth. Patience is needed and patience is rewarded as this track’s transformation is exceptional. By the end, it has created a whole different level of feeling. You’ll feel defiant, angry even, and powerful.

Wren’s innate ability to create so much inner turmoil is remarkable, and with Betrayal of the Self they reach even heavier depths. Offering a sliver of peace with the short and ambient Cerebral Drift. Before hitting an album high with Metric of Grief. A track filled with various immersive sensations, Wren’s ability to create something so vivid and vibrant, all while using shades of grey and black, has already proven to be stunning, but this is an extraordinary effort.

The rawness of it all is perfectly balanced by the misery, which works so effectively because it is warped by experimental aspects that create a more unique soundscape. This is what makes the album fly by and what makes Precede the Flint so special. You’ll feel the emotion of this one in the pit of your soul.

Finally, it’s the dynamic finale of Scorched Hinds, and the sound of beautiful dissonance. Here, in a strange turn, Wren create something that is more rhythmically pleasing, even with its dark, moody, and raw underbelly. At times, you can hear the noise trying to break through, but it never quite hits extreme levels. It’s a very clever finale, and it, like the album as a whole, leaves you feeling tender all over.

Hopefully Wren found some peace and comfort expressing themselves through this record. It certainly feels like they’ve poured every bit of themselves into it. It’s a very special listen.

Wren – Black Rain Falls Track Listing:

1. Flowers of Earth
2. Toil in the Undergrowth
3. Betrayal of the Self
4. Cerebral Drift
5. Metric of Grief
6. Precede the Flint
7. Scorched Hinds

Links

Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Church Road Records