[Insert humorous canine reference here] – 50%
Arboreal, November 24th, 2008
Half assed, as the score indicates. Better than their only other LP (previous to this one), but two out of four of these tracks are just bad. The others are decent if somewhat derivative and boring. This band obviously worships at the Temple of Burzum.
OH SHIT IS THAT A BURZUM RIFF??
Yep, more than one reminds me a lot of Burzum. The sound in general recalls more Strid or Forgotten Woods I guess. This is supposed to be depressive black metal and the band wants you to fucking know it. They glue on a spacey shoegaze/post rock element to this music in a failed attempt at setting themselves apart from other imitators. Those genres themselves might best be considered the worship of 70’s prog or psychedelia. Two Hunters is trash that has not been recycled once but TWICE. I almost feel like giving it a god damn zero.
So, these guys are nature freaks. The vocals sound like some dendrophiliac got his dick stuck in a log full of ants or something. Colorful description aside, they are actually quite good and one of the better things about the band on this release. The drumming is solid and lively but the awful snare sound is very distracting. The riffs aren’t bad and the mood is quite nice. But this music is way too safe and comfortable with it’s limitations.
The compositions are fucking terrible. Track 3, The Cleansing, is a major offender. BLUE BALLS. There’s some sexy female vox in the beginning, above a wash of guitars, before an annoying lead comes in trying to go along with her melody. Derailment #1. It’s quite awkward and totally gets in the way of my fantasizing about this hot babe. Then when the band feels that my nuts have been sufficiently swollen and abused they instantly shift into generic black metal mode with absolutely no transition. Derailment #2. Protip: these parts do not go along well enough to avoid using a bridge. Why fuck up a song not once but TWICE? Because you’re Wolves in the Throne Room, that’s why.
Finally, the production is botched. Aggressive EQ + white noise filter does not equal kvlt. Nope. The filter particularly sticks out on The Cleansing during the overlong intro portion I described. The guitars are obviously processed in an attempt to make them low fidelity, but this is also a total disaster even if the tone is otherwise pleasing. The recording is obviously digital and done by someone who wouldn’t have a clue about using it to properly complement an occult atmosphere. Standard modern recording practice (clarity, separation, compression, etc). Like the rest of the band, the sound engineer was completely clueless.
I’m really supposed to like this, it’s right up my alley. I was also excited looking into this band because they’re American, like me, but they didn’t execute their ideas well enough overall. This is unfortunate because they really DO have some good ones. I hope that Wolves in the Throne Room will improve with the next release. Unlikely, since their heads seem to be colon-deep up their collective ass already.
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