‘Winters Womb’ by Eternal Gaze
‘Winters Womb’ by Eternal Gaze
Blackgaze sometimes receives a bad name for being repetitive and derivative, but some artists learn from this criticism and take the genre into interesting and beautiful territory. Eternal Gaze is one such artist. A solo project crafted by Nashville-based artist Vincent DeMarco, Eternal Gaze broke into the scene in 2023 with a self-titled album inspired by bands like Deafheaven, MØL, and Rolo Tommasi, and it showed that the project pulled from various metal influences. Eternal Gaze’s latest release, Winters Womb, still focuses on brutal and awe-inspiring Biblical themes and stories, yet its influences seem to expand far beyond those initial blackgaze bands.
“Ascend To Descend” opens the album with one of the more ambient, purely shoegaze-focused songs. DeMarco’s vocals are layered over each other with a stream of fuzz, giving the track a raw feeling. The same goes for the light plucking of an acoustic guitar beneath a booming bass until it all forms a mesmerizing, sliding rhythm to invite you on a journey that transcends and grounds you into humility. “We Return To The Earth” makes things noisy with distorted riffs and DeMarco’s screaming. It shows how Eternal Gaze does an excellent job mixing various genres, even beyond black metal and shoegaze, as multiple breakdowns occur leaning on hardcore and progressive metal. Eternal Gaze’s focus on mixing these breakdowns and blast beats makes this song and Winters Womb so dynamic and dramatic. The result creates a steady, heavy sonic atmosphere that’s deeply layered compared to other artists that might separate these two song components.
“In Selah” marks a shift in the album's sound, transitioning from the groovy, progressive structure of the previous song to a more menacing, ambient introduction. The sweeping guitar sets the stage for a marching riff that demands headbanging. DeMarco’s guitar work here harkens back to 90s arena rock, adding a nostalgic touch to the album. Once again, Eternal Gaze surprises us by drawing inspiration from genres beyond the typical blackgaze crowd, creating a unique blend of grunge, black metal, and even hymnals, including chorales towards the song's end. This ability to draw from such diverse influences is a testament to the complexity and depth of Eternal Gaze's music.
This song's marching and slithering tone sets the stage for the next track, “Fourteen Circles,” which delves into the topic of Joshua’s battle at Jericho found in Joshua 6. This track returns to a more melodic nature, punctuated by sudden breaks of progressive syncopation and signature changes. Eternal Gaze brings a true-form black metal ripper with “Your Guile Slips” as DeMarco screams about the fear of God under old-school blast beats and chaos.
Winters Womb then brings out one of its standout tracks, “Upon The Skull Of The Earth.” This song pulls on all of Eternal Gaze’s strengths to create a dynamic, genre-mixing, catchy, epic, and gritty song. In the hands of a less talented artist, this song would only veer into just one of those territories, but DeMarco layers twinkling guitar sweeps over grunge and black metal-inspired riffs. The vocals, describing the power of God and the granted access to holy truth to humanity, add a layer of dramatic lyrical content. The song weaves all these elements together to create an atmosphere where you are uncertain if you should mosh or hold your hands in the air. Probably both.
“The Eternal Quest” and “Face to Face” back into Eternal Gaze’s blackgaze strengths, including impressive progressive breakdowns toward each song’s conclusion. The album’s title track then closes out with more emotional and dynamic music that switches between furious beatdowns and somber verses begging for resurrection and new life. However, DeMarco doesn’t let you leave without one more emotional, dramatic, progressive breakdown at the last second.
Eternal Gaze is quickly working to become synonymous with the high-quality blackgaze of Deafheaven and Alcest. The artist does bring something new to a genre that features plenty of cookie-cutter acts, including unique progressive, grunge, thrash, and hymnal influences. Winters Womb is an excellent black metal album for the summer, and I know it will be on repeat for me for a while.
