{"id":16031,"date":"2025-10-16T19:50:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/?p=16031"},"modified":"2025-10-18T00:35:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T04:35:27","slug":"review-vials-of-wrath-remnants-of-remembrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/16\/review-vials-of-wrath-remnants-of-remembrance\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Vials of Wrath –\u00a0Remnants of Remembrance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I think it\u2019s always something of an event when Christian black metal act Vials of Wrath<\/strong> releases something new. For years, D.C. Mills has been creating some of the most thoughtful and introspective black metal out there. With classics like\u00a0Seeking Refuge<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Dark Winter Memories<\/em>\u00a0under his belt, how will the latest album,\u00a0Remnants of Remembrance<\/em>, fair?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be not afraid. If you\u2019re like me and love the Cascadian black metal sounds of Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch, you are definitely in comfortable territory here. And this might very well be the best thing Vials of Wrath has released yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you want to admit it or not, many black metal bands actually hide a sense of beauty underneath the abrasive sounds associated with the genre; Vials of Wrath brings that beauty to the fore. It\u2019s the musical equivalent of sitting by a roaring fire in a cabin far away from civilization – somehow comforting, thought-provoking, and serene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the colder sounds of Dark Winter Memories<\/em>, Vials of Wrath has gone back a season into autumn (the greatest of all seasons), painting a sonic landscape of flickering fire, falling leaves, and vast woodlands. At times, I found Dark Winter Memories<\/em> a little too<\/em> mild, a little too<\/em> soft, despite the quality of its music; Remnants of Remembrance<\/em> goes a little more for the gusto and ups the metal a tad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first track entitled \u201cThe White Stag\u201d starts incredibly strong with around 8-minutes of pure Agalloch-like bliss. Despite the soft initial approach, it becomes quite clear that Mills has opted for a more heavy sound here, though the guitars remain quite clean in their distortion. \u201cSeed of the Black Oak\u201d follows with a heavier emphasis on distorted guitars, Wolves in the Throne Room-esque vocals, and even boasts a wild guitar solo. \u201cBranches of the Black Oak\u201d begins with an uber-black metal riff reminiscent of Winter\u2019s Dawn, before slipping into a stomper of a track. A break is given (not like one needs it, this album is pretty easy-going as far as black metal goes) in the form of a medieval ambient-style track called \u201cAbrams Creek.\u201d Fifth track, \u201cBaptized in Light\u201d sounds like a lost early 90\u2019s shoegaze track, opening with shimmering guitars that one would far more likely here from a band like Slowdive, Chapterhouse or the early Boo Radleys than anything else, even blending in just the tiniest touch of goth reminiscent of Type O Negative during their \u201cOctober Rust\u201d era; though it\u2019s not my favourite on here, I can\u2019t deny how well it\u2019s played. \u201cMagicicada\u201d goes full Agalloch with meaty acoustic guitars that are nothing short of enrapturing, hitting the heights that classic acoustic tracks like Opeth\u2019s \u201cPatterns in the Ivy\u201d once reached. The album closes with the epic \u201cForty Nine Novembers,\u201d beginning with rolling drum work that echoes \u201cZimbo\u201d by Echo and the Bunnymen (see what I did there?), before segueing into a mid-paced Vardoger-like chug augmented by In Flames-esque melodeath guitar solos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyrically, Mills goes for a more thoughtful, passive approach. He doesn\u2019t hit anyone over the head with anti-satanic assaults or pull any \u201cturn or burn\u201d moves; instead, he espouses a connection to God through His creation. This is no nature worship, nor will one find the pagan-leanings of sonic cousins like Wolves in the Throne Room here; Mills is very clear about Who nature and all of creation is pointing to. The most powerful moment for me is in the track \u201cBaptized in Light\u201d – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a silence<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentary peace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In nature’s temple<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A whispered voice speaks,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Be still and know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be still and breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be still. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be\u2026”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout it all, one thing really remains very clear to me, just as a listener – the music that D.C. Mills creates with Vials of Wrath really seems to me to be about as authentic as it gets: authentic to the environment in which he lives, authentic to his spiritual outlook, authentic to the way of life he has chosen to live; not that I know him on any personal level, but that\u2019s just the impression I get – that this isn\u2019t just music he pulled out of a hat in order to try and sound a certain way. It\u2019s real, in other words. And it\u2019s simply further proof (as if any was even needed) that Vials of Wrath is and remains one of the finest Christian black metal acts today. A beautiful album that contains all of the best elements of the atmospheric\/post-black metal sound, immaculately woven together in a way that is almost untouchable in terms of talent and vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitely gets a \u201cmandatory listening\u201d review from me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Fans Of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Winter\u2019s Dawn, Agalloch, Woods of Ypres (early), Vardoger (early)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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