AOTY 2023

False Light

White Ward - False Light
Critic Score
Based on 4 reviews
User Score
Based on 242 ratings
2022 Ratings: #67
Liked by 35 people
June 17, 2022 / Release Date
LP / Format
Debemur Morti / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

86
Sputnikmusic

False Light is grand, explosive and somehow more forward thinking than the albums that came before it. I won’t go as far to say False Light is innovative, but by measure of sheer quality, it is unreservedly worthy of mention among the year’s best releases.

85
Blabbermouth.net
In troubled times for their home nation, WHITE WARD are conjuring dark and daring art with a perverse but poetic soul. More power to their noble and fearless vision.
MickyT
80

'False Light' is the 3rd album from the Ukrainian Black Metal band White Ward and it also happens to be one of the first projects that I'm ever hearing from them, I knew of them beforehand though because I've seen the cover of their sophomore album 'Love Exchange Failure' around in the past from peoples topsters if I'm correct, but I never got around to checking that album out unfortunately. Well I'm finally getting to hear what White Ward are all about on their latest album which I almost ... read more

MaceBlade42
97

June 2022 Reviews:

White Ward continue to push musical boundaries, exceed expectations, and provide powerful music for the 21st century. This will unequivocally go down as one of the best albums of the decade.

For the uninitiated, White Ward combine extreme black metal and noir jazz (i.e. sax and piano) to create an extremely bleak but refreshing sound. Now, I am not a BM fan at all and have criticized many albums from the genre for sounding like they were made in a toaster oven. However, ... read more

TheCarioca
87

Leviathan - 5/5 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (Que porrada!)
Salt Paradise - 3/5
Phoenix - 5/5 ❤
Silence Circles - 4/5
Echoes In Eternity - 4/5
Cronus - 5/5 ❤
False Light - 5/5 ❤
Downfall - 4/5

PolliHyla
75

This is a decent album with very good production but I just can't get over how gimmicky it is

Radeon38
90

a great introduction to black metal, the instrumentals are superb

Mothware
88

A very emotional and heavy black metal album about the war in Ukraine from a very personal and painful perspective. I loved the blend of blackgaze with the saxo, in general there's a lot of variety and dynamism in this album and it's executed really great. There were some points, specially in Salt Paradise, that I actually got reminded of Swans.
My favorite parts of the album are the lyricism, that in some contexts could be seen as having your typical black metal themes, with the war ongoing ... read more

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Track List

1Leviathan
13:17
93
2Salt Paradise
5:21
84
3Phoenix
10:48
93
4Silence Circles
9:13
91
5Echoes in Eternity
3:28
84
6Cronus
6:20
90
7False Light
14:42
94
8Downfall
3:14
80
Total Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes

Year End Lists

#37/Sputnikmusic
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Added on: April 21, 2022