Wovenhand is the vehicle by which Denver’s David Eugene Edwards shares his spiritual message of both god’s love and his judgment. It’s dark American gothic music with heavy doses of punk, world, native, and Americana influences. While those sounds are there on his latest album, Refractory Obdurate, this is by far the heaviest and most aggressive album he’s ever released. This is appropriate since he’s now releasing music on the metal label Deathwish. It’s also appropriate because his four-piece band now includes two members of Planes Mistaken For Stars: Chuck French and Neil Keener. But it’s Ordy Garrison’s drumming that drives many of the heavier songs. It isn’t complex, but it’s compelling, and gives the songs backbone unlike anything else heard before in Wovenhand’s music. Imagine NickCave fronting a stomping, balls-out rocking punk band. While I would normally cringe at lyrics about god, Edwards’ words are never fake—he’s sincere about his beliefs but is just telling his tale. He isn’t out to win an argument or convert anyone. Edwards is the musical version of nineteenth-century abolitionist John Brown. His sound and music are dark, heavy, and laden with a message about god’s glory and judgment, and he really doesn’t care who likes it. Thankfully for all of us, it’s excellent. I can only imagine how good this is live.
–kurt (Deathwish)