Woe (band)
{{Short description|American black metal band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Woe
| image =
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption =
| alias =
| origin = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| genre = Black metal
| years_active = 2007–present
| label = Vendetta Records
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|woeunholy.com}}
| current_members = {{Plainlist|
- Chris Grigg
- Grzesiek Czapla
- Lev Weinstein
- Matt Mewton
}}
| past_members = {{Plainlist|
- Ben Brand
- Ruston Grosse
- Evan Madden
- Shane Madden
}}
}}
Woe is an American black metal band formed in 2007 in Philadelphia.
History
Woe began in 2007 as a solo project of Chris Grigg, who wrote and recorded the Absinthe Invocation demo as well as a split 7" with Infernal Stronghold. In 2008, Stronghold Records released A Spell for the Death of Man, a full-length album again written and recorded entirely by Grigg. Over the next two years, Grigg recruited additional musicians—including Evan Madden (drums) and Shane Madden (bass) of Woods of Ypres—to perform live shows and write new songs. Woe signed to Candlelight Records in 2010 and released their follow-up album Quietly, Undramatically.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/quietly-undramatically-mw0002044725|title=Quietly, Undramatically|last1=Henderson|first1=Alex|website=Allmusic|accessdate=25 June 2013}} In 2011 came a tour of the U.S. west coast and a tour with Mayhem. 2011 and 2012 also brought lineup changes, including the departure of Evan Madden and Shane Madden and their replacement with Ruston Grosse on drums and Grzesiek Czapla on bass guitar.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} Their third album, Withdrawal, was released by Candlelight Records on April 23, 2013 followed by tours of the United States and Europe.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
Reception
The A.V. Club called Woe "[o]ne of the best of a strong wave of young American black metal bands willing to play around with the boundaries of the genre" and "a group to watch out for".{{cite news|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/november-2010,47485/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113192022/http://www.avclub.com/articles/november-2010%2C47485/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 13, 2010|title=Metal Box: November 2010|last1=Pierce|first1=Leonard|date=10 November 2010|newspaper=The A.V. Club|accessdate=7 February 2013}} About Quietly, Undramatically, MetalSucks said "the band have managed to craft something that gives you a good sense of the possibilities STILL existent in the genre" and "[T]his is the sound of black metal to come"{{cite web|url=http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/10/14/beyond-joey-lawrence-woes-quietly-undramatically/|title=Beyond Joey Lawrence: Woe's Quietly, Undramatically|last1=O'Hagar|first1=Sammy|date=14 October 2010|work=MetalSucks|accessdate=7 February 2013}} while Decibel praised its "sophistication without falling into the usual pitfalls of pretentiousness, cartoonish-ness or undue gloss".{{cite web|url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/record-rules/woe-quietly-undramatically/|title=Woe—Quietly, Undramatically|last1=Macomber|first1=Shawn|date=4 January 2011|work=Decibel|accessdate=7 February 2013}} While discussing the lineup changes between albums, Pitchfork stated that Quietly, Undramatically "felt undecided, as though Grigg was trying to figure out how to use a full band now that he actually had one" but praised the newest lineup on Withdrawal.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17678-woe-withdrawal|title=Woe: Withdrawal|last1=Currin|first1=Grayson Haver|date=26 April 2013|work=Pitchfork|accessdate=25 June 2013}} With the release of their A Violent Dread EP, Decibel called them "one of the most highly respected names in American black metal."{{Cite web |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/03/22/chris-grigg-we-dread-this-violence-the-dread-itself-is-violent/ |title=Chris Grigg: "We Dread This Violence; the Dread, Itself, Is Violent." |last=Andrew |first=J. |date=2019-03-22 |website=Decibel |access-date=2019-03-22}}
Blabbermouth.net gave A Spell for the Death of Man a rating of 6.5/10.{{Cite web |date=2008-12-15 |title=A Spell for the Death of Man |url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/a-spell-for-the-death-of-man/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=blabbermouth.net |language=en}} AllMusic gave Quietly, Undramatically a rating of 3.5/5. Withdrawal earned a rating of 9/10 from Exclaim!{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Mark |date=2013-04-22 |title=Withdrawal |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/woe-withdrawal |access-date=2023-09-29}} and 8/10 from Pitchfork.
Personnel
- Chris Grigg – guitar and vocals
- Grzesiek Czapla – bass guitar
- Lev Weinstein – drums
- Matt Mewton – guitar
Discography
- Absinthe Invocation: Five Spells Against God (self-released, 2007)
- Split 7" with Infernal Stronghold (2007)
- A Spell for the Death of Man (Stronghold Records, 2008)
- Quietly, Undramatically (Candlelight Records, 2010)
- Withdrawal (Candlelight Records, 2013)
- Hope Attrition (Vendetta Records, 2017)
- A Violent Dread EP (Vendetta Records, 2019)
- Legacies of Frailty (Vendetta Records, 2023)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Official website|woeunholy.com}}
{{Authority control}}