Label: Artemisia Records
Review by Warren Mayocchi
With an established career in black metal, Wolves in the Throne Room offer to us their latest album along with a series of guests. Steve Von Till (vocals), Zeynep Oyku (harpist) and Anna von Hausswolff (vocals) appear on a few of the songs in this five track recording. From the album title invoking imagery of Viking knotwork, through cover art featuring Fenris the wolf, to the Norse-like song names – one of which is “Angrboda” the frost giant mother to Fenris – everything about the album hints at dark mythology. Listening to “Thrice Woven”, the experience of mythical events played out in a gloomy atmosphere continues. While each song is great on its own, the power of the album is best when listened to in entirety, this is a dramatic five act performance which I hope the band consider delivering as a complete live set. The album opens with a short medieval acoustic intro before descending into a mostly thrashed song. The majority of the vocals are guttural screams on “Thrice Woven”, so the contrast of having an interlude of angelic singing in the middle of opener “Born From the Serpent’s Eye”, underline the bleak beauty of what the band create. This song also has a music video [here] so you can see what you will find if you open your ears to the album – it is only half of the album track though, the cut is made where the interlude begins because of this you will not receive an appreciation of the band in their atmospheric mood by viewing the video. The remainder of the album continues on the path of the opening track, the majority of it is in the almost ambient style of black metal that is Wolves in the Throne Room. If that suites your taste, at just over forty minutes long, “Thrice Woven” is an easy album to experience in full.
Rating – 87/100
Tracklist
- Born from the Serpent’s Eye
- The Old Ones Are With Us
- Angrboda
- Mother Owl, Father Ocean
- Fires Roar in the Palace of the Moon
Line Up
- Kody Keyworth – Guitars, Vocals
- Aaron Weaver – Drums, Synth
- Nathan Weaver – Guitars, Vocals