Wolves in the Throne Room - "Celestial Lineage" CD Review (Southern Lord) // NYC Shows on Sept. 12th & 14th

On September 13, Wolves in the Throne Room are releasing Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord), which finishes the trilogy that began with Two Hunters (2007). This new disc is more organic (and perhaps less malevolent) than Black Cascade and, while these seven tracks are a noticeable step toward a more open sound, the disc incorporates all of the elements from the band’s past. Immediately noticeable is the return of angelic vocalist Jessika Kenney (who added vocals to Two Hunters (2007) and “Malevolent Grain” (2009)) whose voice starts off the first track “Thuja Magus Imperium”.

In describing the writing process for Celestial Lineage, drummer Aaron Weaver stated: “An ornate constellation of imagery is what that guides the songwriting process. Cedar temples crowned with burnished bronze domes glimpsed in a remote valley. Wild Midsummer bonfires and feasting on roasted flesh. All of the sounds serve to evoke the images that exist in our minds eye. With this record we’re going to explore an entirely new palette of sound. We want the instruments to sound like the liturgical music of a cedar cult.”

Celestial Lineage’s seven tracks run just under fifty minutes and brunt of the disc is comprised by three epic tracks: "Thuja Magus Imperium" (11:41), which opens the disc, and "Astral Blood" (10:16) and "Prayer of Transformation" (10:57) which close the disc. “Theja Magus Imperium” opens with a majestic soundscape before heading into black metal darkness and then the song resurfaces back into the light before the ending. The band utilizes these contrasting moods and sonic colors on a few other tracks such as “Subterranean Initiation” which includes delicately picked guitar work along with the sonic blast beats and “Astral Blood” which has an acoustic interlude which break up the black metal fury.

The other four tracks include the brooding “Woodland Cathedral”, which features clean vocals from Jessika Kenney; two short instrumental interludes, “Rainbow Illness” and “Permanent Changes in Consciousness” with the later including chanting courtesy of Aaron Turner (ISIS) and the pounding black metal of “Subterranean Initiation”. Celestial Lineage is not your run-of-the-mill black metal disc and drummer Aaron Weaver has said "Wolves in the Throne Room is not black metal, or, more accurately we play black metal on our own terms, for our own reasons."

In support of the album, Wolves in the Throne Room kicked off a US tour earlier this month and plan on eventually engulfing many other regions of the planet. In the US, they will travel with their own PA system thus “enabling them to perform in warehouses, groves and collapsed barns rather than the well-worn circuit of the clubs and bars”.

Wolves in the Throne Room Fall Tour Dates
Fri, Sep 30th 2011 - Denver, CO, Rhincoeropolis

Wed, Sep 28th 2011 - Fort Worth, TX, Lola's Saloon
Playing with: Garuda and Megton Leviathan

Tue, Sep 27th 2011 - Austin, TX, Red 7
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Sun, Sep 25th 2011 - New Orleans, LA, Nowe Miasto
Playing with: Thou and Megaton Leviathan

Sat, Sep 24th 2011 - Tallahasse, FL, The Far Side Collective
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Fri, Sep 23rd 2011 - St. Petersenburg, FL, The Chop Shop
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Thu, Sep 22nd 2011 - Atlanta, GA, Club 529
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Wed, Sep 21st 2011 - Nashville, TN, The Little Hamilton
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Tue, Sep 20th 2011 - Sheffield, AL, JD's
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Sun, Sep 18th 2011 - Greensboro, NC, Legitimate Business
Playing with: Mt. Eerie, Megaton Leviathan

Sat, Sep 17th 2011 - Richmond, VA, Strange Matter
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Fri, Sep 16th 2011 - Bethlehem, PA , Steel Cty Firehall, Lower Saucon. Adress: 2121 Riverside Drive Bethlehem, PA 18015
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan and Fursaxa
Additional info: Buy advance tickets here: www.angeldess.bigcartel.com

Thu, Sep 15th 2011 - Philadelphia, PA, Broad Street Ministry
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan, Vit and Woe

Wed, Sep 14th 2011 - NYC, Death By Audio
Playing with: Thou

Mon, Sep 12th 2011, 20:00 - NYC, The Bell House
Playing with: THOU



Links:
Wolves in the Throne Room

Wolves in the Throne Room: An Exclusive Interview with Aaron Weaver (Southern Lord)

Last week, I had the chance to talk with Aaron Weaver - drummer for Wolves in the Throne Room (Southern Lord). Aaron and I talked about the band's forthcoming CD, the ties between black metal and eco-spiritual awareness, alleged eco-terrorism in the Pacific Northwest and more.

Wolves in the Throne Room's music mixes ambience with aggressive black metal. The band describes their music as merging "Cascadian eco-spiritual awareness with the misanthropic Norwegian eruptions of the 90's". The band is about to release a new CD, Black Cascade, on Southern Lord in April.

Here is a direct link to the MP3 of the interview with Aaron Weaver and here is a link to the .

Wolves in the Throne Room are predominately touring around the West Coast this month before playing the Roadburn Festival in Holland next month. Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:

March 16, 2009 8:00PM, The Oak Street Speakeasy, Eugene, Oregon
March 19, 2009 8:00PM, Vino’s, Little Rock, Arkansas
March 22, 2009 8:00PM, Red 7, Austin, Texas
March 25, 2009 8:00PM, The Sets, Tempe, Arizona
March 26, 2009 8:00PM, Casbah, San Diego, California
March 27, 2009 8:00PM, The Troubador, Los Angeles, California
March 28, 2009 8:00PM, Slim’s, San Francisco, California
March 29, 2009 8:00PM, Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon
March 30, 2009 8:00PM, The Nightlight, Bellingham, Washington
March 31, 2009 8:00PM, Neumo’s, Seattle, Washington
April 23, 2009 8:00PM, Roadburn 013, Tilburg

Links:
Wolves in the Throne Room's MySpace Profile