Written By Kevin McSweeney
Let me commence this Wailin’ Storms The Arsonist review with a confession: I have never engaged with Wailin’ Storms before. The name suggests a wizened old blues man with less than the full complement of strings on his guitar and even fewer teeth.
It surprised me therefore when an advance copy of The Arsonist, which was released on July 10th, appeared in my inbox, courtesy of Season of Mist.
I typically expect something a bit heavier from them than some booze-soaked aul fella lamenting his lot in life whilst twanging elastic bands stretched over a Jerry Can. As it transpires, I might have misjudged them.
What we have here is not an old blues man but an actual rock band. They have just released their fifth full-length album via that most venerable of extreme metal labels.
They are billed as southern gothic rock. Had it been southern gothic metal, I might have found myself expecting something like a cross between Down and Type O Negative. That’s not such an outlandish idea.
Phil Anselmo has duetted with the late, great Peter Steele on tour before, and there’s a literal cross between the NOLA boys and the Drab Four in the form of the incredible Sun Don’t Shine.
As it’s southern gothic rock, however, I find myself expecting… what exactly? A cross between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bauhaus? Is that what we end up with here?
Nope! What we actually get is a raw, organic rock sound with a fairly rudimentary production that sounds all the more emotionally evocative for it.
It’s actually not a million miles from Radiohead before they went a bit mental, and at times it merits comparison with the tragically lost talent of Jeff Buckley.
Wailin’ Storms The Arsonist Review
Opening track Dead End rolls by on a cacophonous current of keening lead guitars and tribal 12/8 time drums, and sounds a little like Pixies in their darker moments.
It immediately establishes the album’s rough-hewn aesthetic, where atmosphere often takes precedence over technical flash. As opening statements go, it’s an effective introduction to the world Wailin’ Storms have created.
Heart of Mine is at times a quiet, sombre strumalong, sounding like a cut from Buckley’s Grace, with percussion often taking the form of sticks being clicked and rims being shot. Its ending isn’t quite so quiet, however.
The gradual build gives the song a real sense of emotional weight, allowing the restrained opening to breathe before everything swells into something far more dramatic. It’s a reminder that the band understand the value of patience just as much as volume.
You Never Answered, with its opening riff sounding like an idling engine, is an unnerving little tale that sounds like someone such as Interpol covering Bloc Party.
The vocal harmonies towards the end are surprisingly ethereal, and all the more eerie because of it.
Rather than resolving the tension, they seem to heighten it, giving the song an almost dreamlike quality. It’s one of those tracks that reveals more character on repeated listens than it does at first glance.
I’m hearing a bit of Chris Isaak in the title track, though that could be down to the impassioned croon of Justin Storms occasionally breaking into falsetto notes.
There’s an element of dark country in the title track The Arsonist, with the repetition of the word “lover” and the house going up in a burning ring of fire with the flames going higher.
Again, we have the tribal 12/8 time rhythm, which appears to be a favourite. The harmonised vocals on this track certainly explain the moniker.
It provides a hypnotic pulse beneath the guitars, making the song feel as though it’s constantly moving forward without ever rushing itself. The arrangement is deceptively simple but remarkably effective.
Never Rest is where the band’s noise rock credentials come to the fore, with its feedback-fuelled riffs over staccato beats.
It’s particularly effective, however, when the guitars cut out and it’s just harmonised vocals over pounding tom-toms.
It’s a darker, heavier Jesus Lizard or Sonic Youth, turning into fast and full-blooded punk towards the end, though interestingly still with vocal harmonies.
Those harmonies continue in Saved, which is altogether more bluesy, with a much deeper, baritone vocal in the mix this time.
The slower pace gives the vocal performance plenty of room to breathe, while the understated instrumentation allows the melody to carry much of the emotional burden. It’s one of the album’s more reflective moments.
It’s perhaps the most distinctly southern song of the set, sounding like it could almost be accompanied by the marching band in the Bond movie Live And Let Die – the one from the scene where they provide the musical accompaniment to the assasination of a secret agent.
Patient Night is the shortest song on the album, making it perfect for the impatient listener.
It has a classic 1990s grunge/alternative rock vibe to it, with Storms reminding me at times of David Byrne of Talking Heads in his delivery. Not a grunge musician, I know, but humour me.
The Wind is blown into action by a single-stroke snare roll that is subsequently taken around the toms, leading to a funky syncopated rhythm that I was simply not expecting.
It’s on this track more than any other that I get the Nick Cave comparisons. It sounds a bit like the Birthday Party, perhaps with a bit of Urge Overkill thrown in for good measure.
Towards the end, we get a quiet stretch of song, sounding a little like skiffle, with its twangy guitars and gently brushed snare drum.
The final track sports a delightfully macabre title in the form of It’s All Dark Now Where Your Eyes Used to Be.
It commences not with wailing guitars or pounding drums, but with a melancholy piano that sounds like the work of Nick Cave again, only this time with the Bad Seeds in mind, rather than The Birthday Party.
It’s a grisly little tale that goes some way towards explaining the cover art. It’s a lengthy closer that, rather than Nick Cave, seems at times like a gentler version of Radiohead’s Paranoid Android, with the vocal delivery occasionally resembling that of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
The track peters out in a manner that is slightly disappointing, but then a barnstorming finisher would have been slightly out of kilter with the rest of the album.
In conclusion of this Wailin’ Storms The Arsonist Review, Down meets Type O Negative it most certainly is not. It is a compelling album, however, that gets better with subsequent listens.
It took me too long to finish the review, and for that I apologise. It took a little while for me to get into the music also, but I got there in the end. I guess you could say it’s a slow burner.
Metal Lair awards The Arsonist by Wailin’ Storms four devil horns out of five.
Order The Arsonist Here:
Tracklist
1. Dead End
2. Heart of Mine
3. You Never Answered
4. The Arsonist
5. Never Rest
6. Saved
7. Patient Night
8. The Wind
9. It’s All Dark Now Where Your Eyes Used to Be
Lineup
Justin Storms – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Ben Melton – Lead guitar, backup vocals, Rhodes organ, piano
Steve Stanczyk – Bass
Mark Oates – Drums
Recording credits
Recorded at Earth Analog in May 2025
Production Credits
Produced and engineered by Matt Talbott
Mixed by Mike Lust at Phantom Manor (“Dead End”, “Heart of Mine”, “You Never Answered”, “The Arsonist”, “Never Rest”, “The Wind”, It’s All Dark Now Where Your Eyes Used to Be”
Mixed by Dave Downham at Gradwell House (“Saved”, “Patient Night”)
Mastered by Dave Downham at Gradwell House
All lyrics written by Justin Storms
Cover art
Justin Storms
Layout and design
Steve Stanczyk
Wailin Storms are igniting the stage this summer with a headline U.S. tour. The band will perform songs off The Arsonist for the first time, along with crowd favorites from across their critically-acclaimed discography.
Wailin Storms 2026 The Arsonist U.S. Tour
July 17 – Durham, NC @ Stanczyk’s [Album Release Show] [TICKETS]
July 29 – Johnson City, TN @ The Hideaway [TICKETS]
July 30 – Atlanta, GA @ Star Bar [TICKETS]
July 31 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light [TICKETS]
August 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Motr [TICKETS]
August 2 – Youngstown, OH @ Westside Bowl [TICKETS]
August 3 – Columbus, OH @ Dirty Dungarees [TICKETS]
August 4 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Government Center [TICKETS]
August 5 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery [TICKETS]
August 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Gutter [TICKETS]
August 7 – New Hope, PA @ John and Peter’s [TICKETS]
August 8 – Richmond, VA @ Cobra Cabana [TICKETS]
Available Formats
Digital Download
CD Digipack
12” Vinyl Jacket (Black)
12” Vinyl Jacket (Yellow, red and white marbled)
12” Vinyl Jacket (White with crusher effect in black and pink)
Follow Follow Wailin Storms online
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
Witchsorrow Album Review: The Devil and All His Works
Album Review: Apocalyptic Steel by Nargaroth
Album Review: Altered State by Defiled
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