Let me give you a small history lesson of one of the most controversial sub genres in metal, and perhaps of all music. The prevailing schema of its image is that of a dark one, and rightly so. The early 1990's was hell wreaked onto the quiet and unaware Scandinavian lands effervescent of murder scandals and church burnings, all that had connection to the genre which is known rightfully as black metal. Allow me to digress as this isn't about the history of black metal, but rather the revival of it a decade later in our very own country of Olympia, Washington, USA. The US is not well known to have a slew of black metal bands that have any connection to the actual music other than sharing its fans, and many elitists would want to keep it that way. Hitherto, Wolves In The Throne Room has been a perceived threat from both enthusiasts and dissenters, labeled as 'pretentious liberal posers' and other frivolous slander that people need to speak in order to protect themselves from something that is vaguely familiar yet obtrusive with a modern edge. And we all know that we fear what we don't know much about. Let ignorance shed its skin, and become enlightened. Wolves In The Throne Room has a progressive advantage while keeping to its roots: minimalist chord progressions, ambience created with a wall of sound, shrieking vocals, and militant drumming. Yet they also add a different influence to their noise, with shamanistic, mesmerizing rhythm (occasionally accompanied by female vocals as well, which I will show an example of), and reverberation that sounds like it was recorded in a cave with incoherent vocals reminiscent of 'shoegaze' (look it up). As well has having lyrical content veering to the very left, an opposing stance of traditional conservative black metal values, and its roots not European, it isn't a wonder why they've garnered much criticism. And much praise. As for my own stance, I wouldn't be surprised if they make it into metal history for their retro-revolutionary style. All the artists live a neo-eco friendly life style in a farmhouse, decrepit from wear of age, growing their own food, away from corruption of industrial life while not relinquishing modern age technology to a total Luddism. They have moved away from aggressive satanic imagery to a more down to earth environmentalist and benevolent spiritual one. If anything, they are true romanticists in the sense that nature is everything to their music. Whether their music actually embodies this assertion is up to the listener to challenge.
The Cleansing by Wolves in the Throne Room:
