{"id":93132,"date":"2022-03-18T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T00:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=93132"},"modified":"2022-04-04T16:39:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:39:41","slug":"album-review-eric-wagner-in-the-lonely-light-of-mourning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-eric-wagner-in-the-lonely-light-of-mourning\/","title":{"rendered":"ERIC WAGNER – In The Lonely Light Of Mourning (2022) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ERIC WAGNER
In The Lonely Light Of Mourning<\/strong><\/span>
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\nCruz Del Sur Music (2022)<\/span>
Rating: 9.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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This album was always going to be a hard one to digest – the posthumous solo album from Eric Wagner, one of heavy metal\u2019s gargantuan vocalists.<\/p>\n

If you were born yesterday or think Electric Wizard is doom, then you need to build a time machine, get your head out your arse and listen to Trouble… a band that I still think may have naturally formed even without the influence of Black Sabbath<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eric Wagner\u2019s world-weary tones always drifted over me like autumnal bonfire smoke through drizzle, and this epitaph to the great man continues to chill the bones yet heighten the senses.<\/p>\n

For 37 minutes I remained hypnotized by this record; eight tracks of genuine doom metal beginning with the sprinkles of \u2018Rest In Piece\u2019, a lumbering oath of a track with bubbling bass, punchy percussion and that typically engulfing grey cloud of morose rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cFree your mind, be still and listen,\u201d<\/em> Eric demands, but in those recognisably gravelled tones. Just one listen to this song and I\u2019m convinced that these are some of Wagner\u2019s finest lyrics. Reflective, brooding, moody, yet through the thick layers of sadness there\u2019s a haunting beauty. More so as he sings \u201cDon\u2019t ever dream that it\u2019s over,\u201d<\/em> before signing off with the stirring \u201cI\u2019m so tired and weary, tryin\u2019 to fill that void. Oh lord I feel like goin\u2019\u201d<\/em>. And then the heartbreaking \u201cA breath of wind here at the end, we\u2019ve come full circle my friend\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The lyrics waft over you and through you to the point that the trudging music seems not to matter. And with only one track in, the tears are flowing as the lump fills the throat.<\/p>\n

\u2018Maybe Tomorrow\u2019 brings variances within the doom metal framework, hinting at the joys of Trouble\u2019s Manic Frustration<\/em> with its layers, and \u2018Isolation\u2019 rolls like sun-baked waves. Meanwhile, \u2018If You Lost It All\u2019 begins like a funeral march; black, mournful, sombre, Eric\u2019s stark vocal against the backdrop of strings and drum is probably the doomiest thing you\u2019ll ever hear \u2013 stripped bare and deeply reflective.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Stain Theory\u2019 is a miasmic lonely trudge, and ‘Walk With Me To The Sun’ is mesmeric and psychedelic as Wagner\u2019s great works always have been. The title track is funereal, ethereal and tragic, with the stony drum, the aching guitar, and the impending storm above.<\/p>\n

Finally, closer \u2018Wish You Well\u2019 starts bluesy, yet it kicks into what is essentially the album\u2019s most driven track, adopting a feisty gallop. It’s all so simple, without frills, but organic, heartfelt and wrought with heaviness and haunting beauty.<\/p>\n

In The Lonely Light Of Mourning<\/em> is a fitting end to an incredible career of an incredible man. We shall forever mourn, but his light shines on.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ERIC WAGNERIn The Lonely Light Of Mourning Cruz Del Sur Music (2022)Rating: 9.5\/10 This album was always going to be a hard one to digest – the posthumous solo album from Eric Wagner, one of heavy metal\u2019s gargantuan vocalists. If you were born yesterday or think Electric Wizard is doom, then you need to build […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4760],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-eric-wagner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93132"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93133,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93132\/revisions\/93133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}