Vreid's sixth album is an enjoyable work of melodic blackness.
I wouldn't quite count it among the best of 2013. The guitar tone and production are different than what you'd expect from black metal, though. And when a band is six albums in, I'd hardly expect them to be changing their sound too much in either direction.
Welcome Farewell is ultimately similar to its predecessor, V. Given the clarity and biting guitars that dominate, it is a rather easy and inviting album. That goes counter to the prevailing wisdom of the sub-genre. If the point is to create destruction, then Vreid are looking at it from an almost avant-garde point of view. But maybe that's more positive than not. if the listener is a witness to the destruction, rather than collateral damage, perhaps something more can be gained from the experience.
Aside from "Sights of Old", which runs a little long, I would say that Welcome Farewell is quite effective. I don't think this type of music will catch on and sprout a legion of followers, as melodic death did. But maybe we're better off for that.
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