Customer Reviews

Black Cascade

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Black Cascade, Wolves in the Throne Room's third full-length, opens with the sound of pouring rain. Mere seconds later, the listener is swept into a scathing maelstrom of blindingly-fast black metal, more potent than on previous outings. Throughout the course of the album's four lengthy tracks (around 10-15 minutes each), WITTR unleashes what is likely their best work in every respect.

Led by brothers Nathan and Aaron Weaver, the former helming vocals and guitars, the latter being the skinsman, WITTR's sound can best be described as nature-inspired black metal. With Black Cascade, WITTR further cements their position in the upper echelon of said sub-sub-genre, with nods to Enslaved, Negura Bunget, Drudkh, and Agalloch. In particular, WITTR expertly mimes Drudkh's immeasurable talent for sweeping, tremolo-picked, melancholic black metal passages, but as opposed to a folk sound structure, WITTR exhibits somewhat of an epic, environmental vibe. The roaring guitars, loud, chaotic, and overflowing with energy, along with the phenomenal drumming, give Black Cascade a layered, rich, organic, and powerful sound encapsulated more perfectly than on Diadem of 12 Stars and Two Hunters. Nathan's raspy, screaming vocals have never been more biting and effective, and the inclusion of faint background keyboards lend additional melancholy and awe. The pace of the four songs is frequently slowed, quickened, and stopped, breaking unexpectedly to keyboard/guitar ambient noise, acoustic passages, or simply a back-to-start slowdown of aural lava.

Wolves in the Throne Room's Black Cascade is one of the best modern examples of the raw, emotional power of black metal, and is highly recommended to fans of any of the aforementioned groups, or those who seek the musical equivalent to an acid rainstorm in the middle of a heavily wooded area.

Black Cascade contains nuanced development in the sound of Wolves in the Throne Room, but the band's trademark sound is center stage. As with previous releases, WITTR see fit to pack the album into four tracks, but the content of those tracks differs from Diadem of Twelve Stars and Two Hunters in the consistency of each song's intensity. This is not to say that the band has made 10+ minute tracks that constantly blaze along, but that each track is approached more actively than previous albums, which contained more extended ambient interludes. Here, the ambient/shoegaze and folk interludes arise organically within each track, and the band never leaves you in the quiet for too long. Tempo changes come frequently, and again, organically (fitting, given the philosophy of the band).

This is another magnificent record in an ascendant American black metal scene. Wolves in the Throne Room have remained true to their atmospheric style while making a continually engaging album. If you like what you've heard of WITTR previously, you would do well to pick this up.

Wolves in the Throne Room have been one of the more reliable metal bands in recent memory. This is yet another haunting, experiment set of black metal goodness. A bit noisier than previous releases, but still excellent.

After a few listens I think this is their best cd to date, just behind Diadem of 12 Stars. Great atmosphere throughout and definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of black metal

I'm a fan of Southern Lord (record label) generally and like to give a lot of their a try, even though most doesn't hit my personal happy spot. I'm more of a 'slow, low, loud and long' type of guy, rather than fast, furious and fuzzy. So I thought I'd give this a try. I was drawn to the long tracks and was intrigued by how they deal with fast beats, shreeching + the loonnnnngggggg tracks. Well, I've been blown away.

This is an album that really sweeps me away from reality whenever I listen to it. I find the way it unfolds really beautiful. Yes, the drums are fast a furious some of the time, but it's within a more meditative context and, to me, works really well - I don't feel I'm being hammered to death by a hyperactive chipmonk. Hint: needs to be LOUD to work well!

Use of percussion and keyboards really adds to the vibe. The abstract vocals (a la Burning Witch) work really well for me because I find the linguistic part of my brain doesn't get 'pulled' into the vocals at the detriment of listening to the grander whole, as can often happen (to me) with music with vocals.

My one reservation is that the drums aren't very clear and seem spatially compressed - particularly the cymbals. This seems to be a Randall Dunn hallmark (though not always - Earth's 'Hibernaculum' for instance), and I'm not keen on it. Nevermind, it could be worse: Josh Homme could have had something to do with it - then they'd really sound awful.

I recommend this album to folk who like long meditative metal music but without the superfluous and pretentious bells and whistles of prog.

EDIT (22 March 2010): if you like this, you should most certainly try: Dimensional Bleedthrough without giving it a second thought.

I recently saw these guys on their Tombs/Pelican tour and although I love Pelican, I was more anticipating these guys on stage. Perhaps curiosity,perhaps just a need to see these guys live becuase they are great and I've been following them for several years now ? I was leveled completely within the first couple of riffs of their set and although most fans were there for Pelican, these guys warmed you up well with ears ringing and swirling monstrous,epic riffs that get you lost in time space and then Pelican polished you off. One of the members suffered a breakage on his pre amp during the first song and the crowd wasn't too happy about it, but fortunately it was fixed in a matter of minutes and by this time a lot of people were already anticipating the show and got there first taste of it early on in the set. At a crappy little venue these guys still killed and it has been one of the best shows that I've seen period. Simply put...the music made the mood and there was no need for a fancy venue or any smoke and mirrors!!!! And YES!!!! this album kills too. They are now headlining a tour so see them, buy their stuff, and experience it. These guys are worth it!!!!!

CELESTIAL LINEAGE (2011) was the first WITTR album I heard, and TWO HUNTERS (2007) is roughly similar. They share the same basic sound and structure, featuring Jessika Kenney's "goddess" vocals interspersed with Nathan's black metal vocals. BLACK CASCADE from 2009 stands apart from the other two albums in that it has no female vocals. It is also harder-edged, and I find it to be excellent. There are those who slammed this album for a lack of internal variety. BLACK CASCADE is a very intense onslaught, four long tracks, which might not appeal to those who prefer 3-minute pop songs or who have short attention spans, true. But if you think YANQUI U.X.O. is at least as good a GY!BE album as LIFT YR. SKINNY FISTS..., despite having less internal variety, then you might think BLACK CASCADE is excellent too.

Nathan and Aaron Weaver are Wolves In The Throne Room (WITTR), an excellent black metal band from Washington State. Musically, theirs is a very psychedelic metal. There is no lyric sheet with BLACK CASCADE, and the metal vocals are indecipherable, but the band's message is one of reverence for the Earth. I discovered this band following my discovery of Agalloch, and they convey a similar pantheist/neopagan vision. The Weaver brothers and families practice organic farming on land on the Olympic peninsula and are ready for the collapse of industrial society.

Like Agalloch, I find WITTR to be an inspiration to do all we can to prevent the further destruction of the Earth and all the sentient beings with whom we share it. Unlike Agalloch, WITTR actually *was* created partly out of Earth First! activism, specifically Nathan's experience at an EF! rendezvous in 2002.

Quite good by their second album even if it doesn't have the same complexity or production as two hunters, or the brilliant improvisation and atmosphere of celestial lineage. Songs on Black Cascade will often feel too repetitive and long, as though the band is noodling to find some hypnotic hook that they can roll with, but they just end up pounding on the same tremblo riff for minutes on end, this is especially apparent in "Wanderer above the sea of Fog" and "Crystal Ammunition". though both of these songs are still quite decent, they just lack the anguish, clarity, and melody that are on the other two far more brilliant songs, "Ex Cathedra" and "Ahrimanic Trance". Often times, after playing around with the same repetitive riff, the band will try to break into a moment of atmosphere and acoustics as they had done so brilliantly in the album before, while it works on the songs that i enjoyed, it really feels artificial on the two that i didnt like. Maybe there's a reason why WITTR seem to be the best when they only make 2 songs over 10 minutes than trying to pack in four into one strangely fonted album that lacks traditional WITTR album art.

If you are into the old school black metal scene this is for you. Every song is long and well composed. This is hand crafted classic black metal, sounds like it should have come from norway in 1992. You don't hear many new bands making this classic sound anymore. A must have!

i listen to a lot of Black Metal & to be fair, most of it is just harsh noise, but if you love it & want to listen to what is really going on, there is true emotion under the thick distortion & screeched vocals. this could not be more true than with Wolves in the Throne Room! i was blown away when i first heard Black Cascade; it washes over your ears like a dark nightmare of Shoegazer & Blackened Doom - the production is clear (clearer than most Black Metal, that is). there are only 4 tracks, but they are long & structured like a classical music piece & the vocals seem too heartfelt to just be about Satan or ice covered lands (although i can't understand what the hell he's saying). for fans of Immortal, Nightbringer & Emperor. this is the next level of Black Metal, please pay attention!