EEUWIG from the Netherlands came up with their debut full length “Older Than Fire And Prayer”. Clocking in at a digestible 46 minutes, musically this ten track offering draws heavily from the melancholic gloom of early KATATONIA with the sweeping ambitious style of BORKNAGAR. With that, the band fearlessly attempted and injects elements of Classic Rock and JOY DIVISION styled New Wave into their overall compositions. As can be heard in the numbers like ‘Oculus’, ‘Older Than Fire And Prayer’, ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘I Am The Universe’, this record atmospherically gives away a crushing sense of hopelessness, almost something like fragile euphoria which is wrapped in a cold and dark atmosphere. The guitar work builds on by monolithic riffs with soaring atmospheric leads that can led the listener through an emotionally charged sonic landscape. However, the center attraction of this record lies in its dynamic vocal assault, as one vocal delivers the necessary filth with his brutal guttural roars and harsh screams, anchoring the album in the underground tradition. This aggression is counterbalanced by clean vocals, where the hauntingly ethereal performance of their vocalist Mist can enchant ears. Her delicate deliveries on numbers like the sprawling ‘Oculus’, the emotionally heavy ‘There’s An End To The Trip’ and the lead single ‘The Hourglass’ provide a striking contrast to the heavy instrumentation. This balancing act surely elevated the album’s atmosphere into something truly expansive. The production work handled at Four Blades Recording with mixing and mastering by Evan Reed, finely captures this duality. It worked strongly to let their subtle new wave influences and melodic intricacies breathe without sounding over polished. Wrapped in striking artwork by Marjolijn Noordman, this debut from EEUWIG can reach and attack some ears, depends on how open minded they are with heavy experimentations. To find out more about the band and the label, please visit www.facebook.com/eeuwignl or www.facebook.com/fdarec.