WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM — Two Hunters (review)

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM — Two Hunters album cover

Album · 2007 · Atmospheric Black Metal

4/5 · 2011-08-22
Conor Fynes

'Two Hunters' - Wolves In The Throne Room (8/10)

Although the sound of black metal is most typically associated with the icy landscapes of such Scandinavian territories as Norway and Sweden, this deeply atmospheric and emotive sound for metal has since spread across the far reaches of the world. While it may have been the Euopeans that started things off along their however, the reins have seemed to be passed onto a more recent wave of North American black metal groups, seeking to take the style to new heights. Most highly concentrated in my own home of the Pacific Northwest, the so-called third wave of black metal has found a new home. Among the giants of the Cascadian black metal scene are Wolves In The Throne Room, who- like many of their contemporaries0 stay true to the roots through low fidelity production, blastbeats, and nearly inhuman vocal shrieks. With the band's second album 'Two Hunters' though, Wolves In The Throne Room do make it clear that their sound entails quite a bit more than the earliest innovators of black metal may have had to offer.

Closely resembling the sound of fellow Northwesterners Agalloch, Wolves in The Throne Room open this album with 'Dia Artio', an ambient piece that almost acts as if it were an overture for what is to come. Although the only major instruments at use here are electric guitars and a minimalistic drum pattern, the sound is riddled with overdubs, very gradually switching between massive chords. The impression is that of something close to an orchestra; a vast experience of aesthetic beauty that sets the stage perfectly for the sound to come. 'Vastness And Sorrow' is arguably the most straightforward track here, although being a good twelve minutes long. The grief-stricken guitar harmonies and higher pitched vocal rasps make themselves clearly through, and each riff in the song is very well put together, always favoring an emotional reaction over any technical complexity, of which there is none to speak of. Although a twelve minute track, the piece generally follows the same mood throughout, but while quite repetitive, the listener is never left hanging without a brilliant resolution at the end of each segment.

The second half of the album gets even more drawn out, to a mixed result. 'Cleansing' is the most melodic track here, with the vocals now being led by traditional Celtic singer Jessica Kinney. Here, the heaviness of the last track is absolved for a very ethereal piece of work. Pagan war drums batter eerily in the background under a wave of ambient guitar fog and the beautiful vocals. Although Wolves In The Throne Room are not considered to be a pagan metal band perse, there is a certain feeling of Celtic ancestry here, of course then followed with the equally atmospheric metal assault. While a return back to the black metal is welcome by this point after five minutes of ethereal mellowness, it does feel as if the transition between the two dynamics could have been a bit smoother.

Lastly is the eighteen minute black metal epic 'I Will Lay My Bones Among The Rocks And Roots', a fitting way to end the album by any stretch. Here, the band takes their vast sound and puts it to the test. Although parts of this epic do get exhausted before the end, Wolves In The Throne Room are sure to feature everything in this massive piece that defines them as a group. Ambient soundscapes, intelligent harmonies and powerful build ups make 'I Will Lay My Bones' the certain highlight of the album. A perpetual ebb and flow of melancholic chord changes, howls and mellow moments, the album ends with the listener certainly feeling something.

There is very little to Wolves that is technical in nature. However, Aaron Weaver's drumwork here is some of the best that the Cascadian black metal scene has spawned. The vocals here are all very good, with a special emphasis on Jessica's brilliant guest vocals on the two final tracks. As for the guitars here, it can often feel as if Wolves In The Throne Room would have done well to have a little more variety in their playing. The drums may alternate between the ancient battering of pagan hymns and faster blastbeats, but the majority of what Nathan Weaver or Rick Dahlin do with the guitars is almost entirely based in burstfire tremolo picking, with only few precious moments of clean playing to cherish. For a band that professes themselves to be taking black metal to new heights, this does feel somewhat self-defeating.

The effect of the music on the album is undeniable though, regardless of the repetition and lack of variety. Possibly most surprising here is the effectiveness of the lo-fi production, which manages to keep a vast sound to it, with plenty of details and a sense of ambiguity that only raw, noisy bliss could convey. Although Wolves In The Throne Room may be outdone by some of the stronger acts in nature-inspired atmospheric black metal these days, 'Two Hunters' is an excellent piece of work.