Review: Weald & Woe – Far from the Light of Heaven

July 4, 2025

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Castle Fever

Lately, there’s been an interesting trend in black metal for the medieval-coated melodic style (sometimes referred to as “castle metal”) that feels like it was started off by Obsequiae. Their three albums displayed a fantastic mixture of melodic black metal with medieval themes and folky undertones that started a very cool section of black metal to explore. Other bands that followed on this trend includes Mystras from Greece, Kaikkivaltias from Finland and recently Morke from Minnesota who had a very good and promising EP last year. Another prime example is Weald & Woe based in Idaho. After a great release with 2023’s For The Good of the Realm, can they keep it up two years later with Far from the Light of Heaven?

The opener for this album, “This Vale of Tears,” comes out of the gates strong; I like how it mixes the faster pace and medieval-sprinkled melodic riffs here. Following this comes “Brought to Ruin” that continues the momentum nicely. I love how good the blastbeats are here and how they are mixed well with the melodic riffing. Showing more of a groovy side to the band is “Warchild” which is a pretty fun track to listen to. I also like how the vocals still have a vicious sounding side to them.

The next track, “Radiant One,” shows off more of the guitar leads which work well with the band’s sound. (The big epic chorus here is an album highlight as well.) One of my favorite songs on this release is “Breaking of the Sword” that shows how ruthless Weald & Woe can be. The mix of aggressive riffing and the more Obsequiae-style guitar work here is just brilliant. This track also displays the best of the band’s harsh vocal range that fits with the overall sound. The execution of the styles here is just an absolute triumph.

Following an aggressive track like that is “The Skyless World” which has a much different pace in comparison, with a more atmospheric vibe; the synths really stand out in the background. “Blood Upon the Blade” is another strong track that starts with mid-paced melodic riffing and eventually transitions to higher tempos; this makes the track even hotter and very memorable. Closing off Far from the Light of Heaven is “Stars That Guide the Slain” which thrives in its triumphant sound—such a great way to finish off this album.

This is an even bigger step up from Weald & Woe as the album is a fantastic triumph. It carries what made their last album stand out and added a couple of things that work well, such as the use of traditional heavy metal-style riffing. The band does a great job in holding the torch for this area of black metal that I was talking about earlier. It’s certainly their best effort, despite the high bar that For The Good of the Realm set for them. This album will surely be a top 10 contender for me.