A Sow of Violence — A Vow of Silence Review
A Sow of Violence, the American symphonic/atmospheric dark solo project helmed by Jason Korolenko, unveiled their second independent EP, “A Vow of Silence,” on March 12th, 2025, blending blackened doom and death metal into a suffocating sonic rite. Promoted by GlobMetal Promotions, the EP stands as a four-part liturgy.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
Invocation: A Binding Covenant Begins
As soon as the listener presses that play button, they step into a ritual instead of a mere musical experience. The opening sound is not an inviting melody but a stark, cold proclamation. It’s called A Vow of Silence, a four-part liturgy woven into a deep promise—not just an album but a binding covenant.
Silencing Ritual: Tongues Cut, Voices Buried
Each track functions like a razor-sharp blade pressed against the tongue, silencing words before they can be spoken. Each chord rings out as a psalm of repression, a chant sung by those who have lost their voices. The listener is not simply invited into this space; they are indicted, convicted of participating in a solemn act of silence. They are baptised in an ocean of hush, then entombed within an altar carved from bone, a sacred place of grave stillness.
Mortification Through Sound: A Genre in Deep Freeze
What unfolds through these sound is not mere music but an act of mortification — an intense, almost physical experience of pain and control. It’s black metal at it’s coldest, a genre that’s stripped of warmth and comfort. Inside, it’s forbidden, almost frozen in time, with edges blackened by shadow.
Every note feels like an icy gust against the skin, a reminder of the void where feelings once resided.
A Sow of Violence: The Allure of Poison
A Sow of Violence evokes the image of deadly nightshade — beautiful yet toxic. Its appearance is alluring, drawing the eye with dark, velvety tones. But inside lurks a hidden danger. The album weaves atmospheric layers and symphonic death metal into a rich tapestry of blackened doom. The music feel like a suffocating fog, thick with atmospheric texture that suggest silence isn’t; just quiet but a form of suffocation.
Funeral Procession: Bells, Mist, and Ancient Echoes
A Sow of Violence‘s drums toll like funeral bells, each strike deliberate and heavy, as if marking a silent procession. Synths drift through the mix like ghost veiled, cloaking the entire soundscape in mist and shadow. Reverb is not just an effect; it’s weaponized—vocals echo like confessions in an ancient cathedral. Guitars shimmer with that muted brilliance of candlelight flickering on wet stones, then decay into darkness, their sound like fading echoes.
Beauty in Rot: Sonic Incense and Ritual Decay
There’s an unspoken tension in the music—a constant dance between beauty and decay. Moments of ethereal harmony clash with overwhelming dissonance. This conflict never finds peace but remains suspended, unresolved, adding to the album’s haunting atmosphere. The entire EP delivers a raw but intentional sound. The recordings are not polished to perfection but crafted with a careful hand, feeling dense and packed—like sonic incense curling through the dark recesses of a crypt.
They avoid clarity for the sake of heaviness, letting the atmosphere bleed into every channel, thick and immersive.
Cursed Manuscript: Sound Design as Ceremony
Korolenko’s background as both author and musician shines through in the sound design—a sound design that is a fruit of art. Each track feels like a chapter from a cursed manuscript — full of stories whispered in shadows. The mood is ritualistic, almost ceremonial, like a secret rite kept from the outside world. The layers of sound create a narrative that pulls the listener into a dark realm.
Riffs Like Ritual Knives & Bass Beneath the Grave
The devilmanship on A Sow of Violence is deliberate and precise. The riffs are crushing, downtuned to feel like crawling rather than galloping. Instead of swift, flashy solos, the guitar work focuses on creating a ritualistic cadence and eerie melodies. The chords seem less about technicality, more about invoking something ancient and forbidden. Occasional tremolo passages slice through the dense murk like ritual knives, adding moments of sharp tension.
Still, the general mood remains, slow, oppressive, and ceremonial — like a dark ritual performed in silence.
A Sow of Violence‘s bass lines lie thick beneath the surface, acting as an undercurrent of dread. They rarely step into the spotlight, but serve as the foundation of the entire mood. It’s felt more than hear — a growl lurking in the shadows, anchoring the music with unseen force. The bass lines add a deep layer of tension, making the sound feel even more intense and oppressive.
Echoes in the Crypt: Ritual Drums and Whispered Synths
A Sow of Violence‘s Percussion is slow and measured. No blast beats here. Instead, the drums hit with a funeral-like purpose—heavy, deliberate strikes that feel like gongs in a sacred space. The snare booms cavernously, echoing as if resonating from a vast, silent tomb. Cymbals hiss like steam escaping from a sealed chamber, providing a ritualistic heartbeat rather than a regular rhythm.
It’s less about traditional rhythm and more about creating a pulse for a ceremonial act.
Synths speak softly within this dark fruit of art world—more as atmospheric layers than melodies. Their hums settle beneath everything else like distant chants echoing through shadows. They add spectral depth to the atmosphere without overpowering the organic instruments or distracting the ritual’s solemnity.
Mythic Silence: Vocals as Exorcism
A Sow of Violence‘s Vocals are restrained yet powerful. They’re not loud or aggressive but harrowing in their quiet intensity. Whispered invocations rise into tortured growls that tear through the lyrics, which revolve around repression, silence, and ritual sacrifice. Titles like Lips Sewn Shut and The Tongue Removed evoke images of mythic punishments for speech — acts that away the voice and essence of the individual. It’s not just storytelling, but symbolic exorcism—casting out the world that could undo the silence.
The Sonic Rite: Experience Over Song
Overall, A Vow of Silence stands as a dark, atmospheric fruit of art. It’s a sonic ritual, crafted with intent and precision. It invites the listener into a space of profound silence and decay—where beauty and horror intertwine. This is not just music; it’s an experience, a rite that leaves an indelible mark long after the final note fades away.
Closing: The Silence Is Sealed: A Benediction in Dread
The Vow arrives not as exclamation, but as absolution. It greets the listener with birdsong and solemn piano—an auditory threshold where serenity and dread hold hands. Gradually, melodic chords, drums descend with ritual finality and monastic chants rise like mist from the altar. It is not a climax. It is a sealing. We want to give a shoutout to GlobMetal Promotions for letting us review A Sow of Violence’s A Vow of Silence. Now, we are going to conclude the review by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
A Sow of Violence
Jason Korolenkov — unknown