It’s nothing new to say that In the Woods… is a band that has not only defied genre conventions but also done its own thing regardless of the times. Whether that worked or not is a subject for great discussion. However, I’m going to take the safe (chicken!) route and say that the band’s first three albums are classics—and then things changed (see, nobody’s hurt yet!). So, Otra is trying to get every Black/Prog/Avant-Garde Metalhead on board for once, and that’s a Herculean task. Is it even possible?
In Otra, the band has managed to find a good spot between its melodic and harsh tendencies. We end up with something that feels like a more Gothic take on anything Ihsahn has been doing in the last decade. This is Extreme Metal, but not from the same vein that your elder Metalheads might remember. It’s deep, strange, and sometimes even confusing, yet it doesn’t abandon the possibility of being emotionally compelling. Many Avant-Garde bands sacrifice digestible ideas for the sake of being weird—and though I’m all for weirdness, it’s also interesting to hear a more compromising vision.
As with any other In the Woods… album, the tracks live and die by the quality of their choruses and vocals. Yes, the rest is interesting and engaging, but not as flashy as many other bands could be. It’s inevitable to compare the band with Green Carnation, but this is clearly more Proggy and abstract than Leaves of Yesteryear—and obviously, there’s no comparison with the band’s ’90s era. However, I’d dare to say that Otra is better written and just hits you in the soul harder than any other album in the band’s catalogue since Pure. And that says a lot, given how many lineup changes In the Woods… has gone through.
Now, this is still an In the Woods… album, so you can expect tons of idiosyncratic decisions that many bands just wouldn’t take. Sometimes it works great, and other times… well, it’ll get you arguing with fellow Metalheads about what Metal really is—though all those fools forget how easy it is to define. Anyway, my big issue with Otra is mostly that, despite loving every idea it explores per track, I’d like it to have a bit more. We end up repeating the same cool one for a few minutes too long, which reduces its impact and becomes repetitive. But hey, that’s nothing new if you’re a fan of this band.
In a way, Otra emerges victorious. For a band with such a long and complex history as In the Woods…, the fact that it still exists and drops good albums is something most bands from that era and style can’t claim. I’m happy that oblivion hasn’t taken these guys yet, which is why, if you want something spiritual but charged with mean riffs, this is what you need. As for me, I’ll just let it hit me right in the feels.
Label: Prophecy Production
Release date: April 11, 2025
Website: https://in-the-woods.bandcamp.com/
Country: Norway
Score: Another (otro) 3.5/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 