Solitary Martyr

Last year I reveiwed Deathwhite's first EP, and they've already released another one for our listening pleasure. Already, there are signs of change, and no changes but for the better. Solitary Martyr has fewer influences from folk and the songs sound both more complete and more depressive, and the riffing has a strength I didn't expect based on hearing Ethereal. The acoustic approach is mostly gone in favor of slightly dissonant two-guitar rhythm harmonies that have a much more metal sound, but the crispness of the production and songwriting remains; you could cut diamonds on some of those crunchy chords on Pressure. Suffer Abandonment sounds similar but is much catchier, and the ringing riffs used here, minus the Katatonia-like vocals, sound more blackened than gothic. Speaking of those vocals, they're still emotional, but sound less whiny than the ones I complained about last time. For being this depressive-sounding, the music now progresses smoothly and without introspective pauses, and the guitar work turns on a dime, especially on the title track. The jerking double-crunch of Only Imagined finishes the EP out. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the others -- its slower tempo doesn't seem to lend itself as well to the overall sound of the album --, but the muted guitar break in the middle is good. Solitary Martyr shows a substantial improvement in Deathwhite's abilities and overall sound, and many of the weak points from their first EP have been polished out. It's another $5 EP like Ethereal -- but you now get a good deal more value for the money. Bandcamp: https://deathwhite.bandcamp.com/.