heavy-metal-darkness: Wode | Uncrossing The Keys

Saturday, September 20, 2025

Wode | Uncrossing The Keys | 20 Buck Spin

Release Date: October 3, 2025

Format: CD / LP / Tape / Digital

Genre: Black Metal

Country: UK

Manchester’s Wode have steadily carved a reputation as one of the UK’s most uncompromising black metal forces. Formed in 2010, the band first erupted with their self-titled debut in 2016, a storm of raw fire and traditional black metal fury. Over the years, Wode’s sound has expanded into something far richer and darker, drawing inspiration from heavy metal, doom, gothic rock, and beyond, while never abandoning their venomous roots. Their previous album, “Burn In Many Mirrors” (2021), cemented their international recognition and became one of 20 Buck Spin’s strongest releases of that year. Now, in 2025, Wode unveil their fourth full-length, “Uncrossing The Keys”, a work that embodies evolution without surrendering to compromise.

The nine tracks that make up “Uncrossing The Keys” stretch across 43 minutes of blackened heavy metal, veiled in atmosphere and sharpened with aggression. “Two Crossed Keys” reminds listeners that Wode’s foundation is still steeped in fire and steel. Tracks like “Saturn Shadow” bend toward post-punk darkness, carrying a shadowed pulse that contrasts against the violent blasts elsewhere. “Transmutation” slows into a doom-laden march, heavy with sorrowful echoes reminiscent of Paradise Lost and Amorphis, while “Under Lanternlight” carries a mournful anthemic drive that will appeal to fans of Sentenced’s most melodic work.

The instrumental “Phantom” serves as a spectral interlude, almost dreamlike, before the album hurls itself back into the storm. “Lash Of The Tyrant” stretches past six minutes, the band weaving in melodic hooks that glimmer like fractured glass over the relentless drumming. The closer, “Dashed On The Rocks”, balances aggression and tragedy, bringing the album to an end on a grand and desolate note.

The production, handled by James Atkinson, captures Wode’s sound with clarity and force, neither softening the edges nor drowning the details. Magnus Lindberg’s mastering ensures that the storm remains cohesive from beginning to end. “Uncrossing The Keys” is a continuation of Wode’s path through black metal’s burning ruins into darker and more ambitious territory. The band’s evolution is evident, and here they deliver an album that is as venomous as it is haunting, carrying an atmosphere of grandeur and ruin across its length.

Score: 7.5