Stream Woe’s Blistering New EP A Violent Dread

True as the sun sets each evening and spins our world into darkness, Chris Grigg and his long-running Philadelphia / New York black metal bruisers Woe pump out release after release of uncompromising, tight-fisted black metal. Every time the band puts out a release I’m instantly hooked; there’s something about the way they compose melodies, paired with their stellar musicianship, that has always set them far apart from the pack.

Just a smidge over two years to the day after releasing Hope Attrition, Woe are back with the two-song A Violent Dread EP. The EP’s self-titled opening salvo is at once fierce and artfully arranged, a true collaborative effort between band members, and the subject matter is in keeping with the band’s adamantly far-left ideological subject matter of late. Explains Grigg, “It is a song about death, fear, and exploitation — the modern focus of Woe. It reflects the seemingly inescapable cycle of violence, mourning, and blame that has become a surreal, predictable backdrop to American life.” Woof. The second track is a cover of “The Knell and the World” by Dawn (Sweden), one of Grigg’s all-time favorite bands.

A Violent Dread is out now via Vendetta Records. Stream it below and order it here.