David Eugene Edwards is the kind of fervent believer who was born to be a hellfire preacher.
As leader of 16 Horsepower and, for past 14 years, of Wovenhand he has followed a singular vision with his mission being to remind anyone willing to listen that judgement day is sooner than you would like.
The band's latest album takes its title from the world of astrolatry - the worship of stars in the sky rather than the pampering of earthbound celebrities.
But this doesn't mean that Edwards has gone soft and taken to praising the marvels of the universe. His gaze may be directed heavenwards but he still seems more preoccupied with the pits of oblivion than the perceived beauty of a deity's handiwork.
"Give up your dead!" he cries on The Hired Hand with the Gothic intensity pitched somewhere between Ian Curtis and Bauhaus' Peter Murphy.
Recorded at Steve Albini's Electric Audio studio in Chicago, the album has the kind of authentic intensity which demonstrates that he is unwilling to go gently into the good night.
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His musical disciples are Chick French (guitar), Neil Keener (bass) and Ordy Garrison (drums) and the record also features Crime & The City Solution's piano/synth player Matthew Smith.
"Lushly maudlin" is the oxymoron the band's press office use in reference to the track Golden Blossom and this description could equally be applied to the mood overall.
Come Brave launches us into 53 minutes of impassioned gothic rock steeped in the imagery of sin and redemption and rooted in the God-fearing traditions of Americana.
"There's a fire in my bones" Edwards intones on Go Ye Light and you'd be a fool to doubt him.
Wovenhand's website
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