Devouring Heart

Don’t go in negative. Don’t be reactionary. Don’t hate it just because it’s different. That’s what I told myself when approaching Skeletonwitch‘s risky black metal debut. After Kool-Aid Man-ing onto the scene with 2007’s Beyond the Permafrost,1 the Ohioans immediately moved away from their progressive roots. Indecision between kinetics and construction forced Breathing the Fire into an awkward love triangle before the hyper-streamlined apex of Forever Abomination and follow-up Serpents Unleashed ultimately chose the riffs and with it a plateau. With vocalist Chance Garnette’s unceremonious departure and nowhere to go but sideways, all signs pointed to a long surrender to Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™. Devouring Radiant Light, in this context, makes perfect sense. Good luck explaining that to their rabid fanbase.