Wolves in the Throne Room, Black Cascade
It’s not often you’ll find a black metal band spewing forth anything but hatred for Christ and mankind in general, but that’s exactly what Wolves in the Throne Room have done with Black Cascade. The trio from Olympia, WA have certainly picked an interesting vehicle to deliver their pro-ecological, environmentalist message. Oddly enough, they’ve accomplished this feat masterfully.
Through dense, atmospheric black metal that teeters on the brink of despair and desolation, Wolves in the Throne Room have unleashed one hell of an epic slab of metal. It’s dark. It’s despondent. And it’s sure to break you down to your core animalistic self. Four songs spanning over 45 minutes of bleak, cold and distant black metal creep from your speakers like the early morning fog of an old growth forest.
Soak it in.
Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
“Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” starts off the album with distant screams, driving guitars and rapid drumming. This 10 minute plus track is melancholic and foreboding. The vocals are in the mid-range area and raw. Even with the more melodic moments within the track, the overall feel is still very primal and cold. There’s a nice slow down just after the five minute mark that allows for some impressive and dramatic guitar work. The pace is picked back up a few minutes later with driving drums and distant screams.
Ahrimanic Trance
Some seriously nasty reverb starts off this next one as pummeling drums and discordant guitars quickly come in. The vocals remain in a mid-range scream and are still placed slightly behind the textured din of the blasting drums and guitars. Man, the drumming on this song is unrelenting and really make their presence felt throughout the track. The orchestral atmospheric elements really make this one feel that much more despondent and bleak. The vocals take a turn for the evil around the 3:10 mark — although it also sounds like their screamed into a tin can to muffle them a bit. Either way, the vocal shift is a nice touch. There’s a break in the action for about a minute or so while cymbals clash and everything settles into an erie calm, but that silence is soon broken by blasting guitars and manic drums. The initial burst fades into a slower tempo full of tortured screams and timed drums before descending once again into the dense undergrowth of the NorthWest.
Ex Cathedra
“Ex Cathedra” starts off slowly, building from silence to a steady paced bit of black metal over the first minute. The guitars are melancholic yet have a dark melody to them as the vocals come in. Once everything picks up to the speed of black hooves, the drums fire rapidly while the guitars continue to drive you to the cliff of never ending blackness. The mood changes just before the six minute mark with textured atmospherics and soft keyboard tones. After about a minute and a half some real nice riffing comes in with steady drums that slowly build up in speed and ferocity till we’re clamoring once again into the depths of despair and solitude.
Crystal Ammunition
The final track wastes no time getting down to business and immediately erupts from the darkness with driving rhythms and caustic guitar work. The pace continues with some solid drum work till about 2:30 when it slows for the raw vocals. The keyboards that are added at this point give the track some depth to it’s pit of wretchedness. Overall this one has a more introverted feel that’s deep, textured and reflective. The drumming really stands out more so on this song than the rest as there’s more to it than mindlessly pummeling. The song continues along quietly with light atmospheric noise and acoustic guitar for a minute or so before erupting with rabid drums and riffing.
~ ~ ~
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A