{"id":922208,"date":"2026-10-06T02:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T02:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/922208\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T02:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T02:04:10","slug":"netherwilds-peasant-rising-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/922208\/","title":{"rendered":"Netherwilds – Peasant Rising Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"When 2026 started, I had no history with indie rock group Tokyo Police Club\u2019s frontman David Monk or his viral TikTok peasant-sona Worm Chewer. But when the lead single of Monk\u2019s avant-garde \u201cpeasant metal\u201d side project Netherwilds dropped\u2014\u201dReturn the Goat\u201d\u2014Peasant Rising immediately shot to my most anticipated release of the year. That snapshot of blackened hardcore folk was wild in a way I couldn\u2019t have anticipated. The promise of a concept album following Worm Chewer\u2019s peasant revolution involving mud mages, witch hunters, and Druidic battlemechs only sweetened the deal. But I\u2019m also seeing high expectations for an untested band\u2019s debut in Peasant Rising, something that could easily smite Netherwilds\u2019 fairytale ending. Is Peasant Rising a kingmaker, or are Netherwilds\u2019 ambitions\u2026feudal?<\/p>\n

To my knowledge, nothing else sounds like Peasant Rising. Netherwilds pushes thrash, industrial, hard rock, black metal, and doom through a sieve of eclectic Refusedesque hardcore and romanticized medieval folk. Between EDM drums meeting crossover thrash on \u201cHelm Yeah,\u201d \u201cDungeon Song\u201d trading hypnotic folk with blackened blasts, and theater choir setting the stage for double-f\u2019d-up tuff groove on \u201cThe Fall,\u201d there\u2019s always something novel happening with Peasant Rising. Like a ye olde Systemme of a Downe<\/a>, every disparate genre thrives symbiotically in Netherwilds\u2019 sound, stacking strength upon strength into a distinct, singular identity. Two ubiquitous factors tie Peasant Rising together sonically: folk aesthetics and insanely catchy hooks. Led by Monk\u2019s bouzouki, folk instrumentation offers continuity whenever Netherwilds jumps from hardcore riffing (\u201cFarmer\u2019s Armoury\u201d) to Slayer-informed thrash (\u201cReturn the Goat\u201d) to acoustic industrial groove (\u201cBlight!\u201d) and back. With this creativity come well-earned earworms. Hear the radio-ready \u201cThe Ballad of Sir Gregory\u201d or the atmospheric \u201cCry in the Hay,\u201d or any one of the bombastic choirs across Peasant Rising and you\u2019ll be humming them before you know it. It\u2019s one thing to sound one-of-a-kind; it\u2019s another to also sound as sharp, vital, and catchy as Peasant Rising.<\/p>\n

\ufeffPeasant Rising by Netherwilds<\/a><\/p>\n

What makes Netherwilds\u2019 genre witchcraft so compelling is how it forwards the narrative told on Peasant Rising. Aided by many short narrative interludes, Peasant Rising tells a story of desperation, oppression, and revolution. Each beat is met with an appropriate musical identity. Worm Chewer\u2019s belligerently drunk early ideations of rebellion are captured in the raucous ragers of \u201cPeasant Pit\u201d and \u201cHelm Yeah,\u201d while his tighter, more focused calls to revolution in \u201cThe Fall\u201d and \u201cReturn the Goat\u201d come later. SepticFlesh-like symphonic death riffs and choirs on \u201cHeretic\u201d characterize the seething sanctimoniousness of the king\u2019s Inquisition, while the grimy Sabbathian doom riffs on \u201cWickermech\u201d sell the monstrosity of its titular war machine. Guitar solos are few on Peasant Rising, but when Worm Chewer feels badass on \u201cThe Ballad of Sir Gregory\u201d or unspeakably livid on \u201cReturn the Goat,\u201d you\u2019d best believe they come out ripping. Netherwilds play with an ear for hooks and a mind for narrative, portraying Peasant Rising\u2019s tale in convincing earnestness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That earnestness is what most surprised me about Peasant Rising; I never expected to be as moved by Netherwilds as I was amused by them. Eager to hype up Worm Chewer\u2019s \u201cSiege Proof Hovel\u201d or \u201cshow these nobles who\u2019s King of the Crops\u201d (\u201cPeasant Pit\u201d), Netherwilds are just as equipped to bear the cruelty of the ruling class and show Worm Chewer at his lowest: \u201ccry in the hay and call it a prayer\u201d (\u201cCry in the Hay\u201d). Encapsulating Peasant Rising\u2019s narrative identity is one brilliant metaphor: the goat. The object of jilted remorse on \u201cPeasant Rising,\u201d the goat transforms as Worm Chewer radicalizes (\u201cSiege Proof Hovel\u201d), suffers oppression and degradation (\u201cDungeon Song\u201d), and galvanizes the Humble Horde (\u201cFarmer\u2019s Armoury\u201d). By the time we reach \u201cReturn the Goat\u201d in Peasant Rising\u2019s climax, the goat isn\u2019t just a metaphor for the peasants\u2019 labor being exploited by the parasitic nobility but also Worm Chewer\u2019s self-respect and dignity. \u201cTake me for no fool,\u201d he implores. Despite the farce of Peasant Rising, I must oblige.<\/p>\n

Merging grand storytelling, dark humor, a keen social consciousness, and some of the wildest compositions out there, Netherwilds swing Peasant Rising like a battering ram against the gates of Metaldom. Rarely has a record been so affecting as it is fun as Peasant Rising. Inventive and approachable, high-minded and down-to-earth, Netherwilds lived up to the hype and then some. The boon of hard labor and relentless creativity, Peasant Rising is a debut Netherwilds can hang their helmet on. Don\u2019t be the village idiot; take up your pitchfork and get with Peasant Rising.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: Excellent
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: King Volume Records<\/a>
Websites: netherwilds.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: October 9th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When 2026 started, I had no history with indie rock group Tokyo Police Club\u2019s frontman David Monk or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[43409,149019,113205,344,49,48,62448,75,23277,2526,317439,341,317440,317441,317442,317443,208,209,98049,120190,59782,317444],"class_list":["post-922208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-43409","tag-4-5","tag-avant-garde-metal","tag-black-sabbath","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-metal","tag-entertainment","tag-folk-metal","tag-hardcore","tag-king-volume-records","tag-music","tag-netherwilds","tag-oct26","tag-peasant-rising","tag-refused","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-septicflesh","tag-slayer","tag-system-of-a-down","tag-tokyo-police-club"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}