Two Hunters

This CD is superb. I have been collecting extreme music in all its many guises for years now and this is the first album for a long time to impress me as much as this one did. It is absolute first rate modern black music. At times bleak, harsh and remote, at others beautiful and majestic, but always totally mesmerising. The production is excellent, providing a dense sound but also perfectly capturing the feeling invoked by the music. They obviously gain their inspiration from the mountains of their homeland and this is conveyed wonderfully by these four pieces of music. If the great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner was alive today writing black metal music he would have loved this. This is absolutely fantastic.

This is one of the most surprising Black Metal releases in a long while. From the outset of the album you are thrust into a world of bleak beauty encapsulated in wonder for nature. The first track is an incredible slow procession containing many major chords but with the undeniable fuzz of BM, right from the start you realize this is not going to be a standard BM album. In the classic "Hvis Lyset Tarr Oss" style, the album only contains 4 tracks, one of which being 18 minutes long. One might turn one's nose up at an 18 minute long track however, this is possibly by far the most interesting and gripping 18-minuter that I have personally ever had the privilage to lisen to.

Another notable feature on this album is the presance of a female vocal. Personally, for me, female vocals in metal always lack anything resembling beauty or musical interest. Favouring dull and unimaginative ramblings over something of higher substance. These female vocals do not even come close to the former, they being of such feeling and wonder that you can hardly imagine anything better for this moment of the album. A truly fantastic performance from Jessica Kinney one that will haunt you for days to follow.

All I can say is that this is one of the absolute best albums released in 2007 and anyone who is thinking about getting this, should so, at their earliest convenience.

I couldn't recommend this album highly enough, it will give you goosebumps. Its beautiful, brutal and moving all at the same time and the whole album is like a flowing canvas, different textures and layering of guitars making it very organic. The band lacks a bass player but you hardly notice that at all. The band themselves state; "The music is about wild forests, unfettered rivers, nature: furious and vengeful." and you can really feel this in "Two Hunters". Wolves in the Throne Room use very minimal amounts of any digital effects or manipulation and this definately ties in with the whole ethic that surrounds the band and their work. A wonderful, powerful album.

Two Hunters by Wolves In The Throne Room.....

quite simply one of the best albums I have ever heard.

If you like progressive rock, experimental metal, hard rock or heavy rock then you must try this album. It blows the opposition away.

Its simply powerful and inspiring and beautiful at the same time. And very dark.

The band is an Astral Black Metal band and as I said I never knew such music existed. Highly recommended.

Please rise members of Wolves In The Throne Room. Today is the day you officially earn cult status in the black metal world. Congratulations. Rave reviews have been made world-wide for this band. It's not difficult to see why. Apparently, their style of black metal is heavily influenced by both the folk and progressive genres. Considering this fact, you'd probably expect a certain degree of adventure being shown. If that is your expectation, a more adventurous record is certainly what you will discover on 'Two Hunters'. I'm undecided as to whether the genre description is true or not, but let's focus on the main issue here, Wolves In The Throne Room's second full-length record, 'Two Hunters'. What I can safely interpret is that they have become far more adventurous, a point touched upon earlier.

In many ways, this will be seen as a magnificent achievement for black metal music. This band have come so far since they started back in 2004. Though that is rather clichéd to say, it's true. They have improved in several areas, but most notably in terms of songwriting. In the grand scheme of things, their music is by far more free flowing than ever. It takes everything in it's stride, never exasperating it's audience which may have been the case on previous records. This is where the more adventurous nature that I previously mentioned comes into play.

This side of Wolves In The Throne Room can evidently been seen in the intro track and on 'Cleansing', which is by far my favourite track on the album. It takes black metal by the scruff of the neck and twists it in to previously unseen shapes. This is by far a positive for the band and will certainly help gain them recognition for undoubted experimentation and the ability to change things around.... Some people may be disheartened by the change, but perseverance is key. With most things in life, if you get used to it, you become to tolerate it, perhaps even like it. Due to the experimentation involved, a bit of patience is required to fully appreciate what we, as an audience, have on our hands here.

So, experimentation is key in terms of the progressive nature of this record. The use of female vocals is a wonderful touch. Though I am not keen on them, they are perfect in this context. Wolves In The Throne Room use Jessica Kinney's amazing range of vocals for their own personal gain and to a great extent. She adds a different touch to the black metal genre. How sorrowful voice, which borders on operatic, rings out over the night sky like the sound of wind rustling through the trees. It's subtle and fits amazingly into the background. She is by no means overshadowed by the instruments as they're also subtle when her vocals resume.

What seems to be a tribal form of percussion instrument beats steadily behind her beautiful voice, causing an overpowering ocean of noise to sweep over the audience and brush them aside. Her range in vocals is impressive and fixates the listener's attention on the underlying emotional aspects of this marvellous full-length. Key to communicating effectively with it's audience, 'Two Hunters' taps into a wide ranging group of emotions. These stir within the listener quietly before being let loose as Wolves In The Throne Room's music develops in a more aggressive manner.

This aggressive streak is aptly portrayed by the in form vocals of Rick and Nathan. The desperate growls of despair course through the listener's nerve system and sends shivers down their spines. The vocals are used the right amount and at the right times. Often with black metal music, you find that vocals can ruin an entire atmosphere which had been steadily built up to a crescendo, but not in this case. Fortunately good musicianship wins over.

Everything plays it's part, which is a major positive. The guitars do their job to the best of their abilities. It's not like what you'd normally expect from black metal at all. With the vast majority of black metal releases, you'd expect, at one time or another, for the guitars to be overshadowed by the vocals or vice versa, but that doesn't occur. Guitars and percussion bounce majestically off the vocals and the vocals do the same off of the instruments. The ambience is astounding. Long drawn out riffs create melodies so beautiful they're unheard of. The crystal clear production is key to the audience. None of these lo-fi hazy soundscapes that often detract from the emotional side.

2007 has been an important year for black metal and this album, 'Two Hunters' indicates why. Read more ›

I'm not into black metal in general, but I have come to be a big fan of certain albums which show how it can create stunning new sounds - e.g. Enslaved's 'Ruun', Agalloch's 'Ashes Against the Grain', Nachtmystium's 'Assasins'. They all achieve this through being less extreme than so-called 'kvlt' BM, even though the albums are hardly walks in the parks either.

This, however, is different. 'Two Hunters' has to be one of the most remarkable albums of the decade: I have seldom heard something that is simultaneously so violent and so beautiful. The sense of dynamics - as shown through the changes in rhythm and Jessica Kinney's vocals, but above all through the amazing guitar work - is incredible, so much so that you almost forget that at times this album is full-on blastbeating BM. You just get sucked in and submit to the power of the music. The number of times I have had this album on repeat all day...

So, especially if you are like me not a massive fan of BM but like extreme music in general - especially the sort which packs a big emotional punch and showcases intelligent songwriting - give this a try. I assure you that you won't regret it.