Welkin
The_Origin
5.7
It’s a good thing Welkin passed over the words “anthem” and “dusk” when it came time to title The_Origin, or else they’d be a prime target for an Emperor joke or two. Instead of black metal, though, this Belgian outfit plays an unremarkable form of death metal that is above average in most categories, yet, overall, fails to transcend mundanity.
The_Origin is actually the group’s second, following 2002’s Angel Inside, which fellow Metal Reviewer Erik Thomas critiqued a few years back. Evidently, not much has changed in the Welkin camp since, except for the production. This time it’s great. Each instrument sounds crisp, and one need only concentrate to hear a respective player’s contributions. Unlike many death metal albums – or many albums in general, for that matter – the bass is entirely audible throughout the 35-minute recording. At first it’s a refreshing, welcome change from the norm, but, after a while, it becomes distracting and almost obnoxious in its forwardness. Despite the appeal of low-end, the bass should blend in more with the background. Otherwise, everything else is fairly standard and unexciting. The everyman growls sound off now and again, the guitars boast decent crunch, and the drums provide adequate backbone support. However, when the guitars and drums intermingle, that’s when Welkin are most impressive. The riffing in “Downfall” is nice too, as is the beginning of “Heartstorm.”
On the whole, though, the lack of personality is mainly what dooms Welkin from the start. Or maybe it’s the absence of uniqueness. Either way, aside from the production and musicianship, this album is about as average as it gets. Thus, The_Origin is to be avoided…like inserting an underscore in an album title.
Related
WelkinAngel Inside
10/1/2002