OccultBlackMetalZine: Wolves In The Throne Room

Showing posts with label Wolves In The Throne Room. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Wolves in The Throne Room/Celestie/Artemisia Records/2014 CD Review

Wolves In The Throne Room are a band from Olympia, Washington that has been featured before in this zine and are probably the most well known off all of the cascadian black metal bands and this is a review of their 2014 album "Celestie" which will be self released through the bands own label and also shows the band dropping all vocals and going for a more instrumental and experimental direction this time around.

Nature orientated ambient sounds start off the album which makes the music sound very organic and atmospheric as well as using a variety of many different sounding keys as well as getting more experimental as the music starts to progress and the album also has a very etherial and new age sounding feeling at times.

Synths are the most dominant musical instrument on the album and there are no traces of black metal or left in their musical sound and after awhile distorted guitar drones are added into the music in certain sections of the recording and the band also brings in a couple of long and epic in length tracks and on the 4th song electric guitars are added into the music and they brign a drone/doom metal feeling to the recording.

Wolves In The Throne Room stay away from the black metal sound they are known for this time around to create a more pure experimental/ambient album while also expanding on the experimental and ambient elements that where present on the earlier recordings as well as staying away from vocals to show a much different sound of the bands musical style and the production sounds very powerful and professional.

In my opinion while this is a decent sounding album from Wolves In the Throne Room some of the more close minded fans wont like this recording because there is no black metal being utilized this time but if you are a fan of experimental and ambient music, you should enjoy this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Turning Ever Towards The Sun" and "Celestite Mirror". 7/5 out of 10.

http://www.wittr.com
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wolves In The Throne Room/BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini/Southern Lord Records/2013 EP Review

Wolves In The Throne Room are a band from Olympia, Washington and is really well known in the black metal scene as one of the pioneering bands of both cascadian and post black metal and this is a review of their 2011 ep "BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini" which was released by Southern Lord Records.

"Prayer Of Transformation" which is the first song on the ep begins with distorted amplifier sounds before adding in heavy guitar riffs and drums and after awhile the guitar riffing starts utilizing some melody which then leads to the music going into a more atmospheric black metal direction as well as bringing in grim sounding high pitched screams and halfway through the song the music speeds up a bit as well as bringing in blast beats for a few seconds.

"Thuja Magnus Imperium" which is also the last song on the ep opens up with drum beats and post metal style melodic guitar riffs before adding in atmospheric black metal elements shortly after that and a few seconds later grim screams start to kick in as well as some blast beats and melodic guitar leads and you can also hear a small amount of synths being utilized and halfway through the song clean sections are added into certain parts of the song.

Song lyrics cover nature, mysticism, and metaphysical themes, while the production has a very strong, powerful, and heavy sound along with both of the songs being very long and epic in length.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Wolves In The Throne Room and if you are a fan of this band, you should enjoy this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACK "Prayer Of Transformation". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.wittr.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolves-In-The-Throne-Room/48294546133?sk

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Wolves In The Throne Room/Celestial Lineage/Southern Lord Recordings/2011 CD Review

Wolves In The Throne Room are a band from Olympia, Washington that has had their previous album reviewed in this zine that plays a very nature and left wing orientated from of ambient black metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Celestial Lineage " which was released by Southern Lord Recordings.

Drums range from slow, midpaced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times and on ocassion there is some shamanistic tribal beats, while the synths which are utilized throughout the recording bring a very dark ambient and esoteric edge to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, midpaced to fast ambient black metal riffs that are very primal and at times with somewhat of an atmospheric doom metal feel, while the lead guitars are very distorted and melodic guitar leads and solos that have a psychedelic shoegaze feel at times.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some ocassional clean singing female and male vocals being thrown in at times, while the lyrics cover esoteric, occult and nature orientated themes, as for the production it has a very strong, heavy and powerful feel without taking the rawness away from the music.

In my opinion this is another great amount from Wolves In The Throne Room and while it may be more experimental than their previous releases I still thank that most of their fans will still enjoy this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Thuga Magis Imperiun" "Subtterean Initiation" and "Astral Blood". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.wittr.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolves-In-The-Throne-Room/48294546133?sk

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Wolves In The Throne Room/Black Cascade/Southern Lord Records/2009 CD REVIEW

Wolves In The Throne Room are a band from Olympia, Washington that plays a brand of eco-fascist black metal with some ambient influences and this is a review of their 2009 album "Black Cascade" which was released by Southern Lord Records during the year of 2009.

Drums are mostly fast with alot of fast blast beats and some ocassional slow parts while the synths when they are utilized give the music a very dark ambient feel, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and is all rythym bass.

Rythym guitars use alot of variety with some slow atmospheric riffs that have some doom metal influences that are very depressing sounding mixed with alot of fast primal black metal riffing while the lead guitars when they are used are very melodic and there is not much in the way of guitar solos, acoustic guitars when they are used use alot of full chords and give the music a very dark and depressive atmosphere.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams, while the lyrics touch on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and one of the songs is based on his novel "Lucifer And Ahriman" mixed with some nature orientated shamanism/occultism that carries an extreme left wing message. as for the production of the album which was recorded at London Bridge Studio during November of 2008 with some additional recording at Aleph Studios sounds professional but still raw in a raw black metal way.

In my opinion this is a really good album and prove's why Wolves In THe Throne Room are one of the leading bands in the United States Black Metal, if you are a fan of their prevoius albums you should enjoy this one as well, also check out their live hhows, I have seen them play a couple of times and they have one of the best live performances I have seen for a black metal band.

Standout tracks include "Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog" and "Ahrimanic Trance". RECOMMENDED BUY