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Given the United States black metal community’s penchant for “epic landscapes,” it is no wonder bands affiliated with the Cascades and Appalachian mountains are received so well. We crave picturesque environments and sounds which evoke those images in our minds. I understand and can relate to that wholeheartedly, but what does that sort of desire speak to? We all have a sense of longing and, though ephemeral, we do long to see those things. But we also long for the sense of fulfillment which comes from them.

But what of the rest of the country? Too many of my colleagues have left Middle America for more “dynamic” sights. Mountains are cool, but my heart belongs to the lengthy plains which lead to an endless horizon. The same goes for South Dakota's Woman Is The Earth.

I must admit to not fully paying attention to Woman is the Earth’s earlier work, and that can partially blamed on comparisons to—and my apathy toward—the Cascadian sound. There was something so inherently invalid, at least in my mind, about making a localized generalization about a style of music, then imbuing it elsewhere (one time I saw Altar of Plagues called “Irish Cascadian Black Metal”).

Woman is the Earth doesn’t sound like towering mountains, nor the coldness of their peaks. Though superficially similar to your Wolves in the Throne Rooms, Faunas, and Addauras, Woman is the Earth’s warm, post-rock tinged black metal speaks to a much different locale. In the unpolished, isolated desperation of Torch Of Our Final Night I see the trees which stud the weathered black hills, the wind over the endless fields of rocks, and the infinitely distant horizon. You can keep your mountains.

Torch Of Our Final Night will be unleashed on April 15 via seminal hardcore label Init Records on CD, cassette, and eventually LP formats. Have an exclusive listen to the full album below, and be sure to support your favorite artists and labels.

—Jon Rosenthal

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Follow Woman Is The Earth on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Invisible Oranges is presenting Woman is the Earth's upcoming West Coast Tour as well.

4/22 - Rapid City, SD - Black Hills Vinyl

4/23 - Missoula, MT - Ole Beck VFW Post 209

4/24 - Olympia, WA - Cryptatropa

4/25 - Portland, OR - Valentines

4/26 - Seattle, WA - The Black Lodge

4/27 - Bozeman, MT - The Filling Station

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