Wolves In The Throne Room-Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
Wolves In The Throne Room: Likin' this review...oh yes.
Say what you will about Wolves In The Throne Room; a new LP from the Washington State duo is bound to be a cause for discussion.
Indeed, no matter which side of the opinion fence you stand with this American black metal outfit-whether you feel Wolves are a hipster abomination or a mystical metal revelation-the bottom line is that both sides feel really passionate about their respective stance.
Yours truly? I dig ‘em. Always have. With this latest LP, however, I think that my feelings of respect and admiration have grown tenfold; that’s how impressed I am with Celestial Lineage.
It would have been easy for the band to follow a creative arc similar to either 2009′s sprawling Black Cascade or the organic black metal double shot of Two Hunters and Diadem of 12 Stars, but instead Lineage sees Wolves In The Throne Room expand their atmospheric prowess via some thick, impenetrable walls of synth and guitar. The brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver work in synch here to create an album which is both immediately listenable as well as mysterious in the long term, with layers of dark melody making their way through the ebbing riff darkness upon each successive spin.
The aesthetic overall isn’t that dissimilar to two black metal landmarks from disparate eras: Emperor’s classic In The Nightside Eclipse upon one end of the spectrum, and Negura Bunget’s OM on the other; an evocative feeling which ushers in that indescribable feeling of uneasiness one feels when listening to something truly special and otherworldly. This set up is aided by the expertly utilized female vocal accompaniment of one Jessika Kenney, as well as the earthy production values which, as always, elicit warm memories of classic Arckanum, a comparison I’ve referenced time and time again for the Wolves.
At this point, however, Wolves In The Throne Room have become a reference point unto themselves; a leader and frontrunner for American black metal as a legitimate contender to their Norse and Swedish peers. If there were any doubt at this point, Wolves In The Throne Room are indeed The Real Deal, with Celestial Lineage serving as unmitigated and unadulterated proof. This one is a first day purchase.
GODFLESH has not played on American soil in over a decade, however that is all about to change. MARYLAND DEATHFEST X, which is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend 2012, has just announced it’s first batch of bands confirmed for the annual festival and who sits atop the bill, you may wonder? None other than the mighty GODFLESH. Led by the iconic Justin K Broadrick, GODFLESH reactivated nearly two years ago but have yet to play outside of Europe so this is a huge story to everyone in the metal underground – because we ALL worship GODFLESH.
While my guess is that GODFLESH will cash-in while they’re in America and play several shows, perhaps even a mini-tour, you can never be certain so I highly recommend you get tickets to MDFX as quickly as you humanly can. Don’t worry, there is already a huge bill with some of extreme metal’s finest already announced and many more to come in the months leading up to the festival.
I skipped this year’s installment of the festival because I wasn’t that interested in the acts performing, however I most certainly will be in attendance to watch the mighty GODFLESH along with the other bands who have been announced and are listed below for your salivating pleasure!
Morbid Angel
Godflesh
Electric Wizard
Saint Vitus
Anvil
Morgoth
Suffocation
Confessor
Winter
Demigod
Church Of Misery
Tsjuder
Unsane
Bethlehem
Horna
Sargeist
Negura Bunget
Macabre
Ghoul
The Devil’s Blood
Haemorrhage
Today Is The Day
October 31
Disma
Ulcerate
The Day Everything Became Nothing
Looking For An Answer
Dragged Into Sunlight
Agents Of Abhorrence
Nashgul
Nausea
Bloody Phoenix
Nightbringer-Hierophany of the Open Grave (Seasons of Mist)
While this American black metal act has been receiving quite a bit of praise and attention lately over the course of their two prior full lengths, this relatively quick follow up to 2010′s Apocalypse Sun challenges this fact by not really adding much to the band’s already unimpressive resume.
Hierophany of the Open Grave continues in the path set by Nightbringer on both Sun and its 2008 predecessor Death and the Black Work, creating an admittedly unholy, shadowed vibe of neo-orthodox black metal noise. Herein lies the problem: this template-having already been perfected by bands like Deathspell Omega, Negura Bunget, and, to a lesser extent, Watain-isn’t improved upon by Nightbringer and their antics, which offer more snores than horns most of the time.
Proving once again that black metal just might-with certain rare exceptions-be a strictly foreign proposition, Nightbringer only succeeds in being profoundly boring and listless in execution, with Hierophany finishing off a hat trick of much hyped and lauded, yet ultimately un-fulfilling efforts which only seem to espouse the merits of lackluster drumming and uninteresting guitar work to a black metal fanbase which has heard better.
Only the vocals of Ar-Ra’d al-Iblis and Naas Alcameth offer up any worthwhile excitement or intrigue to an otherwise lackluster and undemanding release. Don’t believe the hype.
Hey, here’s something: it actually reeeeaaallly helps a lot if you don’t look at NYC’s Liturgy while you’re listening to their music.
Why? Well, because this city band has practically embodied the term ‘hipster metal’ tag so ‘lovingly’ placed upon them by media and fans, particularly with their 2009 Renihilation debut.
Like it or not, black metal as a genre has always been extremely reliant upon image and imagery in order to be successful on an artistic and commercial level. Where it’s the true kvlt bands preaching their sermons of blasphemy to the converted or the Dimmus and Cradles of the world plying their Satanic Panic wares upon the unsuspecting mall masses, the importance of imagery and atmosphere cannot be understated.
Which is why the aesthetic of a band like Liturgy is so confounding and frustrating…particularly when this sophomore effort, Aesthethica, shows such marked displays of musical improvement. While Renihilation was a boring and tedious exercise in repetition and mediocrity, Aesthethica breaths a more original breath of fresh air into the band’s ‘black’ metal sound, simply by being itself.
Aesthethica displays much more successfully the personal tastes and abilities of its purposefully/slovenly dressed members, driving home a repetitious yet engaging sound of progression atop a typically harsh-sounding production and framework. The hazy guitars and shrieking vocals of frontman Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (seriously) have come a long way from Renihilation, and instead weave their way around interesting and focused compositional towers.
The end result sure isn’t perfect-lacking real cohesion and concrete, memorable grace-but it’s miles away from the foot-shot fumble which was Renihilation. The real problem is where Liturgy lies in terms of concept. With very few friends upon either side of the pond, it’s too soon to say how well the admittedly interesting-if still somewhat flawed-sounds of Aesthethica will go over, both amongst the hipster contingent and the black metal faithful…the distinction between which has admittedly became fuzzy over recent years.
Of course, this really isn’t black metal, when all is said and done. A relatively enjoyable hipster approximation of the genre? Definitely…but it a’int black metal; at least not the way your Daddy and I know it, Jim.
So, surely everyone here knows another metal head that gauges whether a band is good or not based on the how few people have heard of the band. Well, this new column is directed at just that – finding a band that are relatively unknown in the US and telling you about them. This way, you always have the ability to one-up your friend AND you’ll get to find some truly unique and interesting music.
The first installment needs to focus on the band FEN – who I have worshipped for the last couple of years but, seemingly, no one in the American metal scene has taken notice yet. FEN formed in 2006 when it’s three members joined together to create a studio project that would blend the icy fury of black metal with post-rock/shoegaze elements to create, as the band says in their bio “An expression of loss and melancholic yearning, the primary goal with Fen is to draw the listener into a windswept and desolate landscape, bereft of hope.”
The band crafts a beautiful mix of acoustics and progressive elements, reminiscent to AGALLOCH before spiraling into cold, evil black metal that beckons thoughts of ALCEST or NEGURA BUNGET. FEN creates truly awe-inspiring, reflective music that is so deserving of a wider audience. They are, hands down, one of the best metal bands to come along in the last ten years and my guess is that you have never heard about them until you read this piece.
Ok folks. We are at the sweaty Summer crotch of 2010. It’s August and correct me if I’m wrong but it seems like it’s been a pretty mixed and somewhat tragic year for metal in general. First and foremost, we tip our hats to Dio, SLIPKNOT’s Paul Gray, Peter Steele and a few others including EARLY GRAVES vocalist Makh Daniels who tragically died in a van wreck this week. They’ve all met up with the Grim Reaper (and not the 80′s metal legends) over the past seven months. They are sure to not be forgotten.
So what have we got? AVENGED SEVENFOLD debuting at #1 on Billboard, unseating Slim Shady himself is pretty notable. Interesting that 30% of its sales are digital which shows a big shift in how the not-so-diehard fans are buying their music. Sadly, it’s another success with tragedy written all over it: the death of drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Certainly, that’s one factor that made the A7x faithful (and there are plenty of them) quick to get to Best Buy to hear Avenged’s true confessession of an album. Truthfully, it’s not a bad record either.
What makes it stupendous is that it’s the first time DREAM THEATER’s Mike Portnoy (now filling in for Avenged) has ever seen single digits on the charts!
There have been some solid comebacks: FEAR FACTORY, OVERKILL, EXODUS have all come with great records – something for the over 30 set to get excited about. WATAIN, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and a handful of others have kept the faithful, errrr, faithful. On that note, I’ve heard the new DIMMU BORGIR and it’s “the tits”. I’m also looking forward to a new one from the good blokes in IRON MAIDEN. And Zakk Wylde is promising a solid new album as well. Can’t say I’m a big fan of the last one — and yes, I did A&R the thing! Can’t win ‘em all!
OK, here’s a couple of cool things: Anybody catch MEGADETH with Dave Ellefson back in tow? Well, Dave “Junior” re-joining was fairly unexpected and it was great! Fucking amazing actually. There’s a DVD being released of the Megs’ last LA show entitled Live At The Palladium. Do yourself a favor and check that one out!
The three-piece Animosity era incarnation of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY is back. With frontmen Pepper Keenan and Karl Agell they made some great records but this was always my favorite incarnation of the band. C.O.C. are playing “The Power of the Riff” fest in LA this Sunday. Details and full assesment then.
While the “Big Four” tour didn’t hit US shores, it seemed like a successful endeavor as METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX traversed Europe dominating festival after festival. OK, so Joey Belladonna singing John Bush era ‘Thrax hit “Only” was a little (and this is putting it nicely.) awkward, there was one huge moment that put chills up and down your spine. At the climax of these shows, all the members of all four bands would get onstage to play DIAMOND HEAD’s call to arms, “Am I Evil”.
Check it out here..
The sight of Hetfield and Mustaine standing next to each other is simply electric. No other way to put it.
Back to a lil’ gloom: It seems like no particular “scene” has come busting through the door to save us. Folk Metal, Black Metal and the ever reliable Industrial scenes didn’t have much to say so far. . I think the only new emerging sect I can think of is what I’d like to call “The Anti-Bieber Movement”: populated by BLACK VEIL BRIDES and VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! and hordes of screaming 13 year olds with disposable income! While the backpatch-wearing metal purists may shudder, anything to get a youngster to part with his parent’s hard-earned cash is OK by me!
But has there been that big breakthrough album? That one new band that we’re all freaking out about?
So now for our sins we get ATTACK ATTACK.
And that rubbish BURZUM album.
Where’s metal’s big breakthrough for 2010? We started this year with plenty of tragedy. Even Emperor Magus Caligula bailed out of DARK FUNERAL! What’ve got to look forward to? To be continued….
Here’s My Top 20 albums so far
1-DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN-Option Paralysis
2-FEAR FACTORY-Mechanize
3-WATAIN-Lawless Darkness
4-OVERKILL-Ironbound
5-TRIPTYKON-Eparistera Daimones
6-ALCEST-Ecailles De Lune
7-DANZIG-Deth Red Sabaoth
8-IMPENDING DOOM-There Will Be Violence
9-AS I LAY DYING-The Powerless Rise
10-HOWL-Full of Hell
11-IMPENDING DOOM-There Will Be Violence
12-NEGURA BUNGET-Maiestrit
13-CYNIC-Re-Traced In The Air
14-OV HELL-The Underworld Regime
15-PERIPHERY-Periphery
16-EXODUS-Exhibit B: The Human Condition
17-WHITECHAPEL-New Era of Corruption
18-INTEGRITY-The Blackest Curse
19-1349-Demonoir
20-ENFORCER-Diamonds
