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Post by Kerrick on Jan 4, 2016 17:20:42 GMT -6
Well since we started discussing these guys in the Mgla thread, I figured we may as well just start a thread specifically for Wolves In The Throne Room. They've been one of my favorite black metal bands since their debut Diadem Of 12 Stars (which is still my favorite of theirs). Usually it seems most folks consider their "best" album to be Two Hunters, though I was surprised to hear you guys seem to like Black Cascade the most. Two Hunters is good, but kind of sloppy in spots. Black Cascade has some KILLER riffs, I love the old tape production and its tight. Black Cascade is hands down the best album from WITTR, but I don't think the two bands are comparable whatsoever. I enjoy all of their albums, though as I said, I still prefer their first album. I really like the direction they took with Celestial Lineage which was more aligned with that of 12 Stars in terms of sound. Has anyone seen them play live? I've seen them twice so far and they put on a very good show. Though one of the major draws for me to Wolves In The Throne Room is the addition of other elements besides straight-up black metal such as the female vocals, acoustic guitars, and the like. During their shows they mostly do away with all that and so you get the more harsh side of the band. Not really a complaint so much as an observation.
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Post by archdukeofmetal on Jan 4, 2016 18:00:02 GMT -6
Black Cascade just seemed to capture a "raw atmosphere" without being too raw. Two Hunters is great, Celestial Lineage had some good moments, but as a whole, I thought it was "good ideas with a whole lot of bullshit filler".
I was supposed to see them back in 2011, but, I think I had class or something.
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Post by Kerrick on Jan 5, 2016 12:14:44 GMT -6
I hear ya on Celestial Lineage. I really like the stylistic direction they took with it but yet it wasn't quite as captivating as some of their others. I still like it more than Two Hunters though. (Mainly because TH has an intro, two very good songs, and one long and rather boring song IMO.)
Do you have Diadem Of 12 Stars?
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Post by Kerrick on Jan 5, 2016 16:41:18 GMT -6
Alright, well all this Black Cascade talk got me inspired so now I'm listening to it.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Jan 6, 2016 0:10:41 GMT -6
Yeah, I like 1.5 songs on Celestial Lineage. ...the rest I was pretty bored with. I've never heard Diadem of 12 Stars...
I'm probably weird for categorizing/processing black metal, but my comparison to Mgla and WitTR has mostly to do with their "medium speed", "production" and "lineup". Like I said, weird. I know.
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Post by Kerrick on Jan 6, 2016 13:48:48 GMT -6
Diadem of 12 Stars is definitely worth checking out! You may like the rawer production on it. It's hard to find for a good price nowadays though it looks like eBay has a copy for $10. (The cheapest Amazon has it is $80!)
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Post by archdukeofmetal on Jan 6, 2016 20:15:23 GMT -6
Yeah, it's a good release, but I find myself listening to Black Cascade and Two Hunters much more.
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Post by kimmo on Jan 8, 2016 6:47:00 GMT -6
Maybe this band takes more time for me to get into cos I havent yet really found this to be of interest, but maybe I will "get it" later. Other so called "Cascadian" bands like Panopticon have seemed more easily accessable for me, though I must say I really dont care for that particular bands mix of folk music and black metal. I like them separately though
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 16:27:38 GMT -6
I've been listening to some of this after all the discussion here and I really like their sound. Kerrick, you and I seem to have similar convictions over lyrics. Do you think these guys are okay?
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Post by archdukeofmetal on Jan 9, 2016 17:50:00 GMT -6
I've been listening to some of this after all the discussion here and I really like their sound. Kerrick, you and I seem to have similar convictions over lyrics. Do you think these guys are okay? their lyrical content has to do with nature and the preservation of it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 17:58:20 GMT -6
Sweet. I've been listening to Black Cascade on YouTube. I'll have to pick it up soon.
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Post by Kerrick on Jan 13, 2016 15:37:15 GMT -6
I emailed them back 2006 after their first album was released to ask about their lyrics. Their response was:
hello
we don't allow our lyrics to be read for personal reasons. But we don't sing about satan. We don't believe in satan. The songs are about nature and sadness. If you want to read about our views there are some interviews out there.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Jan 13, 2016 17:01:11 GMT -6
LOL I would be extremely comfortable saying that most (black metal) artists that sing about Satan, don't believe in Satan. Its just the "cool" and "hip" thing to sing about in this genre of music. Like pop bands using the word "baby".
Definitely not trying to derail the thread or spark a debate, but one of the reasons I have no lyric filter (anymore) is because I don't think I should take the lyrics any more seriously than they do.
Still, it makes me happy when you guys who (do have spiritual alarms set to lyrics - which is a good thing) find a band that makes quality music and doesn't trigger faith guilt or danger.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 20:23:30 GMT -6
WITTR have been a big influence on my sound (obviously), but there are many other "Cascadian" bands out there that are worth looking into as well. Skagos, Alda, Addaura, Ashborer, and Woman Is The Earth are a few I like. My favorite albums by Wolves are a toss up between 'Diadem' and their EP, 'Malevolent Grain' though. My signed copy of 'Diadem' is one of my most valued CDs in my collection.
I saw them live once and it was an awesome experience, but I agree with Kerrick that it's more of their harsh, aggressive side without the female vocals and synth parts. However, it didn't take away from the atmosphere in the least. And it was, dare I say, almost like a religious experience. Very trance inducing if you let yourself get lost in the music. I wish Christian bands would take note of how serious and effective the music can be in this regard.
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Post by nocturnaliridescence on Jan 13, 2016 22:42:54 GMT -6
Very trance inducing if you let yourself get lost in the music. I wish Christian bands would take note of how serious and effective the music can be in this regard. I can't of course speak for all bands but I actually specifically try not to make my music trance-inducing. I know what you mean about getting lost in atmospheric black metal and am familiar with the effect, but I specifically aim to omit that from my music. Like - ... You have "dungeon synth" bands using pianos and string sounds to create an atmosphere. Meanwhile, you have people outside of the scene who may use the same sounds to create an artistic backdrop to whatever idea they're trying to express. Emotions they're feeling, or a story they want to tell, etc. instead of atmosphere. That's what I try to do.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2016 9:24:21 GMT -6
Very trance inducing if you let yourself get lost in the music. I wish Christian bands would take note of how serious and effective the music can be in this regard. Meanwhile, you have people outside of the scene who may use the same sounds to create an artistic backdrop to whatever idea they're trying to express. Emotions they're feeling, or a story they want to tell, etc. instead of atmosphere. That's what I try to do. I somewhat understand what you're saying, but I tend to feel that all music creates some kind of atmosphere – be it one of anger, joy, dread or despair and darkness. As an artist I think most good music tells a story, or at least backs it up (as the case with musical scores for movies, theater and such). I guess what I meant was that I wish more Christian bands would express different emotions, as you said, instead of trying to be brutal and aggressive all the time. I came from the hardcore "For Today"-type scene, but after several years I found myself wanting more artistic expression than being simply heavy and all about "bashing satan's face." Don't get me wrong, there were many times of genuine praise and an "atmosphere" of worship at our live shows, but music has so much more to offer. It's ironic to quote such an anti-Christian band, but a lyric from Dissection's 'Storm of the Lights Bane' says something like "only a black heart can see the beauty in darkness." I don't think this is true at all, for God created the light and dark, day and night. And all natural creatures in it. As a believer and an artist, I try to convey some of that beauty in music – along with other emotions in experiencing it. I'm not saying all black metal should be trance-inducing and atmospheric in such an aspect, or even dark and foreboding for that matter, but I definitely agree with you that it is an excellent means to convey emotions and tell stories.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2016 18:03:02 GMT -6
I bought Black Cascade digitally (cheaper and faster than physical and I only really care about collecting CBM physically) a while ago and I'm really getting into it. When I first saw the song lengths, I wasn't too happy (some black metal bands can get really repetitive and boring...) but these guys manage to keep their music interesting all the way through. DC is right when he says it can be almost trance-inducing at times. It's so easy to just get lost in it. Something about the way they produced the guitars, it sounds wave-like. It's very deep and engulfing.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Jan 19, 2016 23:14:12 GMT -6
You should have an album review blog man. LOL
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Post by thevociferator on Jul 30, 2016 3:58:23 GMT -6
DC: yeah man, I'm in the same boat. Most of the music I want to make will be trancelike. Most of the music I listen to is something one can be absorbed into, either atmospheric black metal, neofolk, post rock, or noise. Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, IHOP, and a few others managed to make worship sessions full of this absorbing, soaking worship sessions from 2009-13 until they all heard about Mumford & Sons.
For me personally, I want to make music that will suck my spirit into the atmosphere of the music and project it to heaven to hear from Father. It's still a few years away until I can make this happen though. But one time during a band practice I really did feel like my soul got taken up to heaven in the middle of a jam, one of the most worshipful experiences in my life.
To everyone else: WITTR's store started up again and they're rereleasing their first album on it now! Got get a copy if you haven't yet! DC and I did!
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Post by nocturnaliridescence on Jul 30, 2016 9:07:13 GMT -6
Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, IHOP, and a few others managed to make worship sessions full of this absorbing, soaking worship sessions from 2009-13 until they all heard about Mumford & Sons. For me personally, I want to make music that will suck my spirit into the atmosphere of the music and project it to heaven to hear from Father. It's still a few years away until I can make this happen though. But one time during a band practice I really did feel like my soul got taken up to heaven in the middle of a jam, one of the most worshipful experiences in my life. Be careful - Bethel and IHOP teach some pretty dangerous theology. "Soaking" in a spiritual sense is based on eastern spirituality / New Age teachings. (Quick googled it, this seems to generally explain it well but I didn't read all of the links there) And you definitely don't want to practice anything that causes your spirit to leave your body, or, at least, makes you feel like it is. Projection is a way for the enemy to feed us false information and allow negative influence in our lives - I know this one firsthand.
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Post by thevociferator on Jul 30, 2016 10:38:56 GMT -6
I'm not really wanting to astral project, there's just a spiritual thing that happens when I'm playing music.
Soaking is just the word they use. The real word is meditative. If Gregorian chant is not meditative, then I don't know what is. And that's as far from Eastern/newage as you can get. Also David played meditative music for Saul and gave him a sense of peace.
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Post by Bartimaeus on Jul 18, 2017 10:44:14 GMT -6
New album "Thrice Woven" 9/22 Music video (!!!) for first single. Apparently it is just the first half of the album version of the song. There is a write up on NPR that makes it sound like it's going to be fantastic.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2017 12:46:18 GMT -6
Yeah the full first track is already up on Bandcamp. It sounds great.
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