Are they part of the American black metal movement or not?  This is the question I asked myself countless times while listening to Withered's latest offering on Prosthetic Records, Folie Circulaire.  In the end, does it really matter beyond trying to find an easy way to pigeonhole a band that clearly doesn't want to be labelled? 

If the American black metal concept peaked your interest, Withered would be a different branch on the tree from the likes of the Nachtmystium and Wolves In The Throne Room.  Withered blend together the muscular black metal assault of Behemoth and mesh it with a bottom heavy groove reminiscent of Remission-era Mastodon.  "Clamor Beneath", featuring Barney Greenway for on vocals, starts off with a thunderous bass-heavy gallop that carries the song for a minute and a half before it devolves into a beastly wall of evil guitars.  "Gnosis Unveils" starts off sounding like one of the lost tracks for Leviathan, with an expansive riff that carries the listener over a sea of blackness before the crosses get turned upside down, the amps pinned to 11 and the descent into hell is aided by the muscular growls of Chris Freeman.  "The Fated Breath" charges out of your speakers, alternating between bass-heavy sludge and fierce blast beats. Clearly not your average church burner's type of black metal.

Folie Circulaire takes several listens in order to pick up all of its nuances and subtleties.  The more you listen to it, the darker it gets, and it's pretty damn dark right out of the box.  Whether you want to be ahead of the curve of the American black metal movement or just haven't found anything sufficiently dark and heavy to listen to lately, you would do right adding Withered into your rotation.