UNRESTRAINED #39 - As seen in the Final Issue, one of the last reviews Adrian ever wrote. RIP our Northern friend.
WOLVEN ANCESTRY - THE WRATH OF GAIA (Archaic North Entertainment)
-and-
ARCHAIC NORTH ENTERTAINMENT 2008 LABEL SAMPLER (Archaic North Entertainment)
I should point out that while I have had this band’s
release in my possession for a good year or so, it is not till now that I
ventured forth to review it after seeing them live recently with Woods of
Ypres.
Both bands put on a great set that night, though it
was the truly unique clamoring of black metal rawness, the Northern imagery
(furs, corpsepaint and wolven headdress) and aggression that allowed Wolven
Ancestry to leap out at me. I’ve been familiar with their black metal
background for some time, hence why I was going to someday review the CD.
Finally I got to it… Wrath of Gaia is a strong record, a little unbalanced by
the complexity and drive of the band and the raw production going hand in hand,
but overall the band’s black metal numbers and outdoors sounds (snow blowing,
wolves howling, winds) work. That’s not to slag what is going on here at all.
What I mean is that this band’s approach to bringing a unique edge to their
semi-melodic black metal and folk-tinged numbers is stalled in spots with the
production it has. With such a grandiose delivery and workload put into each
song, this band deserves a better production, even
though in all fairness, black metal has always been
rooted in fuzzy guitars/noise, banshee vocals and raw/weak production. At least
the way underground fans perceive it to be. With each listen you cannot deny
the strength of the band’s passion on numbers like “And Gaia’s Wrath of a
Thousand Forms of Vehement Torture Will Be Brought Upon Ourselves, The
Self-destructing Human” and “With Northern Twilight Resplendent, We Follow the
Moonlit Path in Search of Habitable Lands” or not want to worship the album
closer, “A Bloodline of Immortal Passion Bestowed the Harmony of Man and Wolf”.
Wolven Ancestry knows how to bring the Northern edge to their music, so here’s
to a successful journey into the dark-hearted abyss of the music industry. I’m
sure they’ll be able to take on any challenge as they’ve proven they are
capable of delivering the goods. UPDATE: The band is currently working on the
follow-up to this album and has already released newer material on a
compilation this year (featuring Empyrean Plague, Darkblood, and others;
courtesy of Archaic North). The new stuff is definitely some of their stronger
material. The band has stepped things up, allowing their music to become at one
with itself, losing any question of whether they can compete in this genre or
not. Fuck that, they own it. Their style and sound is quite distinct and
memorable, the three new tracks diligent in their ways of drawing the listener
in, especially the monster track “Our Star-guided Journey to the Realm of
Neverending Life.” Fucking superb craftsmanship! The band continues to surprise
me and it’s obvious why they are considered one of Canada’s best black metal
bands—if not the best. Looking forward to the next album!
A.Bromley -8- / -8.5-