Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 8/7/2014

Label: Artemisia Records

Celestite, Tape/LP/CD/DD  track listing:

1). Turning Ever Towards the Sun 11:24

2). Initiation at Neudog Alm 05:58

3). Bridge of Leaves 05:08

4). Celestite Mirror 14:32

5). Sleeping Golden Storm 09:02

The Band:

Nathan Weaver | Guitars, Synth

Aaron Weaver | Guitars, Synth

Review:

Wolves in the Throne Room (WITTR) have been honing their craft for well over a decade. Celestite is their fifth full length album release and sees the band veering into far more progressive territory than before with an instrumental companion piece to their previous album; Celestial Lineage. Comprising five tracks, two of which run to over ten minutes, the spacey cover of the album echoes the traits of the album.

A very ambient opening on ‘Turning Ever Towards The Sun’ shimmers delicately for the opening as it expands before a left turn sees the ambience hit a darker note. Brass led tones create an awkward soundscape, as the guitars create a minimal sound reminiscent of some of Ulver’s material on Messe. The opening is almost in two parts as it pulses and pulsates for the second half whilst the unnerving drone continues. Atom Heart Mother Pink Floyd springs to mind as the vastly cinematic and track never loses your attention.

The opening of the album, although dark in places, doesn’t allow you to decide where you are. Second track, ‘Initiation at Neudog Alm’, is far more sinister and menacing as the guitar drone is a lot more intense. The guitars spiral downwards using a definite Stephen O’Malley influence. ‘Bridge of Leaves’ continues the darkness but without the dense guitars. Organ sounds fill the void of the track and the entire dark flourishes spout off the track to create another horrifying mood. As the track nears its completion there is a glimmer of light as the mood lightens.

This mood segues a little into the next epic composition; ‘Celestite Mirror’, this is synth heavy, and as the track moves through it various peaks and troughs, there is a synthesised melody that moves away from the main body of the track. More melody ensues with an almost flute like sound adding more colour to the constantly evolving tableau of sounds. The ending strains of the track see the melodies paired with more droning guitars to take you back to that extremely unnerving place from earlier in the journey. ‘Sleeping Golden Storm’ closes the album with layer upon layer of synthesised strings building towards another epic sounding ode to the vast.

Throughout the album, the journey is epic. Some parts are more exciting than others as some sections get bogged down in their own pomp. However, this album from a band that like to push boundaries is a very good listen. It is lengthy and certainly challenging, but that is certainly enough for you to give it a go. If you are a fan of Shabda, Sunn O))), Ulver or the earlier Pink Floyd material around Saucerful of Secrets and Atom Heart Mother, this is well worth an hour of your time. Get the headphones on and disappear to a different world.

Words by: Dom Walsh

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom

http://www.wittr.com/

The Sludgelord News : Wolves In The Throne Room New Album Details

Following the November release of their BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini two-track live 12" via Southern Lord, new recordings from WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have been confirmed for a 2014 release. Following several months of anticipation, the Cascadian black metal clan comprised of brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver now humbly unveil their impending full-length release, Celestite.

Taking a different approach than their previous LPs, Celestite is a completely newly envisioned, parallel-universe version of Celestial Lineage, the beautifully blackened fourth studio full-length epic WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM released via Southern Lord in 2011. Celestite arises with a whole new, ethereal approach. There are no drums and no vocals. Rather, deep, heavy crystalline synthesizer journeying, Eno-inspired analog processing and arcane acoustic instrumentation expand upon dimensions folded within the universe of Celestial Lineage. 

The Weavers tell us: "To make Celestite, we delved into the subterranean sonics that are buried in the mix of Celestial Lineage. We isolated them, processed them and took this unearthed soundscape as our starting point. Upon this base we recorded an entirely new album. Some melodies from Celestial Lineage are recognizable, but these familiar sounds appear as ghosts, barely tethered to the original compositions. This new album is an unorthodox foray; a fully instrumental, experimental companion record to Celestial Lineage. We left some work undone with Celestial Lineage. The recording of that album in the Winter of 2011 was a monumental project for us personally, and the creative fire from those recording sessions was still burning. This recording process was an opportunity to journey into our own inner universe to complete that which needed to be completed."

Paired once again with producer Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Master Musicians Of Bukkake),Celestite came to fruition at Avast Studios and WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM's own Olympia-based studio Owl Lodge. While cloistered during the recording sessions they made use of a mammoth arsenal of crumbling vintage equipment including a Serge Modular System, Korg Poly6, Korg MS20, Korg Mono/Poly, Roland Juno 106, Roland Jupiter 6, Roland Super jx10, Jomox Airbase 99, Access Virus and more. The album also features a guest wind ensemble including friends Josiah Boothby on French Horn, Steve Moore (Earth, Sunn O))), Stebmo) on Trombone, and both Mara Winter and Veronica Dye on flute.

The upcoming release of Celestite is doubly exciting for WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM as it will mark another new venture for the duo; the inaugural release on their own new label, Diadem Records. The band states, "Diadem Records is the imprint we created to release Celestite and future albums. Most importantly for us, working on this album has revealed a whole new vein of creative energy for WITTR. Now that the long trip of creating this album is finished, our appetite is whetted for future projects, thus we feel it necessary to pre-empt the inevitable chatter that will accompany the release of this record. WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM has not permanently abandoned the guitar and drums! We sense that one day -- perhaps sooner, perhaps later -- we will be inspired to return to our stacks of amplifiers and cabinets to create new music."

For more information :

http://www.wittr.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolves-In-The-Throne-Room/48294546133?sk

Source : Earsplit PR