CoC : Willow Wisp - Delusion of Grandeur:(A Gathering of Heretics) : Review

Willow Wisp - _Delusion of Grandeur:(A Gathering of Heretics)_
(Full Moon Productions, 1999)
by: Aaron McKay (7.5 out of 10)

For starters, a rather unusual choice for Full Moon to go with here, but not uncharacteristic for the label by any means. We have in Willow Wisp's release _Delusion of Grandeur:(A Gathering of Heretics)_ the Satanic (or at least a strong agnostic disposition) prerequisite most definitely present. What constitutes the singular significant preoccupation in Willow Wisp's music is their symphonizing of so very many angles of metal into what they call their own. I'm not saying this has never been done before, but WW certainly provides their own flavor to the musical soup. At times, I hear the serpentine vocals associated with Epoch of Unlight; other times I might swear that I was listening to an old Bauhaus or Cure record. The opening of track seven, "Copulation in thy Paranormal Forest", is truly one to hold up to comparison to Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth. Willow Wisp's song titles are also a relatively large selling point for me as well. For instance, "Cruel, Despicable, Non-Caring Breed" and "Time: A Journey to Failure". Nothing particularly insightful in these titles, but they -do- communicate the dark direction of the band. More than sixty-seven minutes of music on twelve tracks are offered to the listener on _Delusion of Grandeur:(A Gathering of Heretics)_. If you are close-minded, you might be better advised to avoid this, but for the rest of us, Willow Wisp opens a rather nice diversion into some aspects of metal not yet exploited.

(article published 15/1/2000)