Kev Rowland
According to Wikipedia The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe, with the belief that a spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, with horses and hounds in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it. The hunters may be the dead or the fairies and seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it. So, there you have it. Now it has another meaning, that Watain have produced the album they have long been threatening. They have created a strong reputation for themselves since their first album in 2000, most notable in recent years, but this is moving to an all-new ballgame.
Everything one could wish for from Black metal is here, and here in spades. Black ones. Powerful, menacing, cold, bleak, symphonic, over the top, it is all here. The dark majesty of this is quite hard to comprehend. Some will point to classic Bathory or Behemoth as influences, but instead I would rather say that this is classic Watain, just taken to a new level. The production is spot on, and each instrument is clear and distinct while also creating a wall of sound that light just cannot breach. The record label says “one could say that Watain is about to become the biggest and most important black metal band in the world. Except that they’re already there.” On the basis of this album they may just be right. If you are into Black Metal, then this is possibly the most important album of 2013.