Canada’s Uncle Woe brings you a contemplative, progressive doom album “Phantomescence” that was completely conceived and recorded in pandemic induced isolation. The opening track/lead single, “Become The Ghost” is a meandering exploration of death and dreams.
“Phantomescence” deviates from the first Uncle Woe album as the band moves forward from a solo studio project. It is an easily digestible, logical next step in the band’s evolution; elements, which made the first LP, “Our Unworn Limbs”, engaging and intriguing are present again on this offering; expanded upon, polished, and moderately better produced. The new album deals with death in a much broader and less personal sense, and also contains a lot of abstract, dream sequence type elements.
Currently, as a two-piece, Rain Fice and Nicholas Wowk worked on their parts separately, shared them online and managed to pull off the second album from the band. Fice details the intricacies of the single:
“Become The Ghost is almost relentless in its forward, mid-tempo, stomping march. The first chorus comes as a very small, simple 3/4 breather, in the midst of the opening/verse riff’s endless churning and revolving 11/4 and 15/4 riff. The vocals throughout are rough, and finally build to a scream in that last, closing verse. After the death of someone very near to me, I remember a feeling of loss so great that it seemed that even though THEY had died, I was the one who became a ghost if that makes sense; a ghost, or shadow, or shell.”
Many chugging, bludgeoning passages are offset by expansive and contemplative, subdued, almost post-rock soundscapes, making Uncle Woe suitable for fans of Yob, Chrome Ghost and Deftones.
“Become The Ghost” can be heard via its premiere on TheSludgelord HERE.
The full album “Phantomescence” is due out October 23rd via Packard Black Productions and available for digital, CD and vinyl pre-order HERE.
Track Listing:
1. Become The Ghost (6:29)
2. On Laden Shores (13:30)
3. Lucid Degrees of Autoscopic Ruin (6:45)
4. A Map of Dead Stars (13:14)
EP Length: 40:00
Album Credits:
• All songs performed by: Rain Fice/Nicholas Wowk
• All songs written by: Rain Fice *Become the Ghost by Fice/Wowk
• Produced by: Rain Fice/Nicholas Wowk
• Mixed by: Rain Fice
• Mastered by: Rain Fice
• Album Artwork by: Rain Fice
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
EP Recording Band Line Up:
Rain Fice – Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
Nicholas Wowk – Drums/Percussion