{"id":385401,"date":"2026-01-23T03:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/385401\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T03:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:37:08","slug":"review-woe-legacies-of-human-frailty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/385401\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Woe – Legacies of Human Frailty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Andy<\/a> on January 22, 2026January 22, 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by: Rotting Reign<\/p>\n

Style: Genres Melodic black metal, black metal, post-black metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Abigail Williams<\/a>, Mg\u0142a, Emperor
Country: United States
Release date: 1 January 2026<\/p>\n

Throughout my reviewing career, I have often thought about telling underwhelming solo black metal artists that they should probably make a friend. I may have put that line in a review or two\u2014truthfully, I can\u2019t recall1<\/a>\u2014but I\u2019ve largely stopped myself out of my wealth of kindness; after all, they\u2019re already friendless, and you shouldn\u2019t kick a person while they\u2019re down. Woe began as a solo project of Chris Grigg, but he immediately prevented any possible future bullying by me when he made Woe a bona fide band in 2010 (most of the group is the same lineup as NYC death metal\u2019s Glorious Depravity). Yet like most of the world during Covid, Grigg was left alone again, and he composed Legacies of Frailty, to be released in 2023. It\u2019s a good melodic black metal album, don\u2019t get me wrong, but it lacks a bit of oomph of prior full-band Woe albums like Hope Attrition. Had I reviewed Legacies of Frailty upon release, I certainly wouldn\u2019t have bothered roasting Grigg given the circumstances and that it is, in fact, an enjoyable listen from a competent musician. But the album was a step backward for the USA black metal \u201cgroup.\u201d<\/p>\n

In late 2025, Grigg and the rest of Woe decided to revamp the band\u2019s Covid record, in a triumphant return as a group, and Legacies of Human Frailty arrived on New Year\u2019s Day. Unfortunately for the other one-man black metal bands out there, Legacies of Human Frailty is solid evidence that having friends makes for better black metal\u2014a clear improvement over the OG version of the album. Setting the new iteration of this album drastically apart from Grigg\u2019s own is that Legacies of Human Frailty was performed live-in-studio with vocals dubbed in a single take. Now, the album exudes a primordial energy that a one-man act in the studio\u2014no matter how competently performed and produced\u2014cannot: energetic, chaotic, imperfect, and natural.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Woe\u2019s music floats suspended in time. The riffs follow a strange harmonic language \u00e0 la Yellow Eyes, but Woe are more content to sit with their deceivingly complicated riffs for several contemplative minutes at a time. While the guitars contort atmoblack, the brunt of the brooding tension is built from Grigg\u2019s foreboding, Emperor-esque synthesizers. This slow buildup style is deceiving; moment-to-moment, the continuous stream of blast beats and fiery riffs only develops from the pitter-pattering cymbal work of Michael Kadnar in a Mg\u0142a-ish way, but over the course of minutes, the riffs have mutated to be more intense. \u201cFresh Chaos Greets the Dawn\u201d is exemplary in this regard: the guitars are instantly active, yet it takes nearly eight minutes of small rhythmic variations and delicate synth playing to reach the track\u2019s blazing climax. Other tracks operate in a haze of dreaminess in spite of the fairly violent instrumentation. The succulent lead guitar tone in \u201cShores of Extinction\u201d and the sparkly riffs of \u201cThe Justice of Gnashing Teeth\u201d both help the songs glide forward. Above the instrumentation, Grigg\u2019s biting vocals are a standout performance, providing texture to the slow-progressing tracks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the inherently repetitive nature of Woe\u2019s songwriting style hurts the band on occasion. In \u201cThe Justice of Gnashing Teeth,\u201d for instance, a riff from near the midpoint redundantly comes back at the end, detracting from the song\u2019s climax in which the synths open a gateway to the heavens. Several tracks lose their pointed focus at times, as if the band fell into a trance playing (damn good) riffs over and over. There\u2019s a tension to the repetition, certainly, and Legacies of Human Frailty\u2019s biggest highlights are born from it, but Woe too strongly flirt with the fine line every post- adjacent band walks when they opt for a hypnotic, slowly-morphing songwriting paradigm. Dwelling in the icy riffs isn\u2019t an issue, per se, but the record would benefit from being a little tighter.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good thing Grigg kept his friends through Covid because they helped him realize that Legacies of Frailty had a standout black metal album within it. Of course, Grigg\u2019s synthplaying and riff-writing\u2014and especially his not-priorly-mentioned killer vocal performance\u2014make the full band version what it is, but the added intensity and dynamics of recording together with other humans help the record stand out from hordes of other meloblack solo artists. The moral of the story: black metal artists should make friends.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Fresh Chaos Greets the Dawn, Shores of Extinction, Far Beyond the Fracture of the Sky
You may also like: Yellow Eyes<\/a>, Wiegedood, Mare Cognitum, Amalekim
Final verdict: 7\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: independent<\/p>\n

Woe is:
\u2013 Chris Grigg \u2013 guitar, vocals, synth programming
\u2013 John McKinney \u2013 bass
\u2013 Matt Mewton \u2013 guitar
\u2013 Michael \u201cMegaton\u201d Kadnar \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

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