Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

It's the new Wolves in the Throne Room junt. I ain't listened to it yet, so you be the judge. They haven't disappoited me yet, so should be bitchin'.

WITTR - Celestial Lineage

Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

My buddy Ben listed a bunch of records he bought one day, and so I jocked his style and downloaded a bunch of them. This one punched me in the dick immediately. Originally from Columbia and now based somewhere north of Seattle, WA, Inquisition is a fresh take on raw black metal. The duo bring the ruckus with lots of blast-beats and crazy, shimmery melodic guitars, often dropping into slow and dark churn long enough to enthrall the listener, only to ambush you with another insane metal assault. Very unique band in a world of bands beating the old black metal formula to death. My only concern is as a two-piece, I highly doubt they pull off this awesomeness live, but I'd certainly love to see them and find out. My words here are not enough to convey why I dig this record so much, so listen to the jam below and you'll see what I'm talking about. Dig it, and get it.



Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

Wolves In The Throne Room

 

I almost feel bad for not writing a legit description in my own words, but I'm just not feelin' it right now. So next best thing is to just give you the write up off of Southern Lord records' site. Besides, if you are into black metal, you should already know about these guys and their unique approach to the genre, combining a traditional black metal sound with shoegaze and lots of atmosphere with an eye toward eco-conscious themes.

From Southern Lord:
"During the Summer of 2002 at an Earth First rendezvous in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, guitarist Nathan Weaver was inspired to create a band that merged a Cascadian eco-spiritual awareness with the misanthropic Norwegian eruptions of the 90's. The band envisioned would strive to create a mythic space where artist and listener alike could strip away the mindset of the mundane to reveal a more ancient and transcendent consciousness. The mysterious and wild energies of the untrammeled forests of the Northwest would be channeled into sonic form.

In the Spring of 2004, Nathan and his brother, drummer Aaron Weaver, moved to a dilapidated farmstead on the outskirts of Olympia, WA. The creation of their farm-stronghold, called Calliope, would be intrinsically linked to the development of Wolves in the Throne Room. It was during the first long, dark winter living in the collapsed farmhouse at Calliope that the band developed their trance-inducing sound and solidified the burning intent that would animate the band's music. Elements of black metal, crust punk, folk music, thrash metal and drone music were drawn upon to create a unique alchemy.

Since that time Wolves in the Throne Room have ascended to the upper tiers of the underground scene by creating a transformative and apocalyptic musical manifestation that has come to completely transcend the black metal label.

Wolves in the Throne Room's first studio album, the lush and atmospheric Diadem of 12 Stars (A Shimmering Radiance), was released in the Spring of 2006. This gloriously sprawling record was captured on tape by Tim Green at Louder Studios in San Francisco. Diadem was very well received and quickly established a cult following. Wolves in the Throne Room was heralded by the press as one of the most promising Black Metal bands to emerge from the United States, though the band stressed in interviews that they felt like they had little in common with their more Satanic peers.

The fall of 2006 brought a new pact with Southern Lord records and the beginning of a relationship with producer-engineer Randall Dunn. (SUNN O))), Earth, Grails) Their epic album Two Hunters is a masterfully dark and emotional document that further established Wolves in the Throne Room as a band totally unafraid to follow their own path. 

In January they will release a European tour-only EP picture disk, titled Malevolent Grain, on Conspiracy Records. The record is the first to feature their new guitar player Will Lindsay (Middian) who had previously served as the band's touring bass player. 

Winter Solstice 2008 saw the completion of their 3rd studio album, cryptically titled Black Cascade. Recorded onto 2 inch tape and mixed on a 1973 Neve Console by Producer Randall Dunn, this monolith of trance inducing psychedelia swings between passages of blazing crystalline blackness and ocean-deep ritualistic dronescapes. Black Cascade elevates Wolves in the Throne Room into the ranks of the elite in the extreme music world."

Demo 2004

Demo 2005

Diadem of 12 Stars (2006)

Two Hunters (2007)

Malevolent Grain EP (2009)

Black Cascade (2009)

Live at Roadburn (2009)

Deafheaven

Not a whole lot of information on these dudes, but they are apparently from San Francisco and their jams fall somewhere between atmospheric black metal and Envy-style screamo. For more info, you can read this interview. If you like Wolves in The Throne Room, you're gonna dig the shit outta these guys. Get these records.

Deafheaven - Demo
Deafheaven - Roads to Judah

Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs

So here is another personal favorite I've been holding out on for a little while. Amesoeurs is a French atmospheric black metal band with heavy post-punk and shoegaze influence, formed with the purpose of creating music that reflects the dark side of the industrial era and modern civilization.. Male and female vocals, sometimes clean, sometimes screaming, sometimes just gibberish and vocal noises ran through lots of psychedelic effects. These guys put out 2 short EPs, then this one full-length and broke up when the 2 singers (who were dating at the time) started having relationship trouble. Damn shame broken hearts gotta come in and ruin some truly unique and well crafted music. Even if black metal ain't your thing, you may dig this record, so give it a shot.

Blackened Spacegaze

Drudkh

Atmospheric, progressive black metal from Ukraine. Lots of folk influences, as well as occasional proggy parts with synth and crazy technical riffs. Here's the 2 records I have. Probably grab some more soon and post them for you guys.

Forgotten Legends (2003)
Microcosmos (2009)

TWILIGHT Discography

The black metal scene in the US has been known to be pretty suspect. Very few US black metal bands shine through the haze, and this band contains members of some of those elite few that push the limits of their music. Featuring Wrest (Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice), Malefic (Xasthur), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Sanford Parker (Buried at Sea and Minsk), Aaron Turner (Hydra Head records, Isis, Old Man Gloom), Imperial (Krieg), and Stavros Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth), this 'supergroup' was golden from the moment it was conceived. If those names do nothing for ya, you obviously have a lot to learn about good metal. Lucky for you, I'm here to help.

Commissioned by Total Holocaust Records in 2005, the first Twilight record (lineup: Wrest, Malefic, Blake Judd, and Imperial) is quite reminiscent of Leviathan and Xasthur, mostly thrashy and raw, occasionally taking a turn for the atmospheric, and more depressive side of things. An excellent record, and exactly the caliber of music you'd expect from the parties involved. After the self titled release, Malefic left the band, and in 2009 in came Parker and Turner. 2010 saw the release of Twilight's second record, Monument to Time End, which definitely shows the addition of Aaron Turner and Sanford Parker. This time releasing from Southern Lord records, you can hear the evolution of a band that was originally intended to be a "black metal supergroup", into an unstoppable juggernaut of awesome. Much like Isis and newer Nachtmystium, Monument to Time End shows a much stronger focus on blending several styles and approaches to metal music, creating a record that is incredibly engaging and impossible to categorize. If you are into any of the bands I name-dropped, grab these records up, and if you have no idea who any of the bands I name-dropped are, you've got a lot of catching up to do. GET ON IT!

Twilight - Twilight
Twilight - Monument to Time End

Otis Reaper

Otis Reaper are some really good friends of mine from good ol' West Tennessee, who play a gnarly blend of southern-fried, blackened stoner death; the illegitimate child of Immortal and Lynryrd Skynyrd, drunkenly conceived in the parking lot after an Eyehategod show. They just got done recording 5 jam-tacular tracks and they passed them along to me, so I decided to share. You should definitely check this out if you are into heavy music. Their music is pretty unique, and I really want people to hear it.

 

DOWNLOAD IT!