WRAITH - Fueled by Fear (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Indiana’s Wraith touched my radar back in 2018 with their simple and straightforward but hard-hitting debut album Heed The Warning. Since then, it’s been a mixed bag, as I felt their follow-up Absolute Power didn’t do much to inspire despite a slight reworking, but then Undo The Chains swung in and blew my mind a few years following, outdoing themselves. It was anybody’s guess as to how the band would fare moving forward with such a background. This brings us to Fueled By Fear, working in the same vein as the prior record.

Working on a good foundation, the fourth outing sees similar songwriting tactics that made the previous record super strong. The blackened, harsher vocals remain while the cleaner, precise guitar sweeps and strong leads still take the forefront for much of this. Hooky tactics that build for nice choruses can stick in one’s head, and I’d go as far as saying a lot of these fall in the fun category (with a mean tint). Tunes like “Ice Cold Bitch,” “Code Red,” and “Merchant Of Death” are packed with pummeling drum kicks, breakneck riffs for days, and energy that’s easy to dig.

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The only real issue at hand is that Fueled By Fear overstays its welcome just a little bit. This style of black-meets-speed/thrash isn’t really meant to stray too far past the half-hour mark, as much longer tends to run out of inspiration sooner or later. Obviously there are exceptions, but this usually requires a unique ear for songwriting, and as much as I like a lot of these songs, I’m a little tapped out by the time we pass “Hell’s Canyon,” another one of the standout tunes. The same general structure is found almost everywhere, which shouldn’t be too surprising, but there’s a reason why the shorter record lengths worked in the band’s favor on prior albums.
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It’s hit or miss on whether or not the “don’t fix what ain't broken” method will work in an outfit like this. Wraith handles it pretty well, just for a little too long in this case. Their latest album is absolutely worth hearing for fans of the genre, but I personally get everything I need from them in this direction from the Undo The Chains, which feels like a healthier serving. As solid as it may be, there’s only so much you can do here.

Wraith - Fueled by Fear was released June 28th, 2024 via Prosthetic Records.Find it here!

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