Omaha’s Weaving Shadows formed in 2022 out of the ashes of Kyle Androy and Erik Fichtner’s previous project Dopecorpse, and with the addition of drummer Mason Weber and guitarist Adrian Salcido – described locally as an Omaha guitar legend – the band has been building toward something heavier. “Kodokushi” dropped March 5th, produced by Grammy-nominated engineer Tim Zick, and the title refers to the Japanese phenomenon of dying alone and going undiscovered. It’s that kind of record. The band records everything live to preserve the raw energy of high-wattage amplifiers, and that choice matters here – this is not a track that could survive being sterilized in post.
Musically, those gritty, washed-out guitar textures are almost like ambient darkness; it’s not in your face, it’s like the looming incomprehensible danger that’s always there in the corner of your room. There is obviously no shying away from the darkness here, and over its 9-minute runtime, different chapters of the story unfold. Sonically, though not everything Weaving Shadows offers up is in that ambient soundscape of darkness, the drums are more upfront, which helps keep the listener involved and not too detached. That contrast is what holds the song together across its runtime – the guitars pull you into the fog while the drums keep reminding you that you’re still standing.
Tim Zick’s production is worth singling out. He has a way of making the dread feel three-dimensional rather than flat, which is exactly what this kind of doom-sludge material demands. On April 17th, Weaving Shadows will be opening for Dopethrone and Year of the Cobra in Lincoln, NE – if “Kodokushi” is any indication of what they bring live, that’s a bill worth making the drive for.
