Did you know Wolves in the Throne Room had signed to Century Media? Did you know they’ve got a new record coming out in February? I didn’t. I mean, I’m not the be-all-end-all of news-awareness or anything, but I’d hope that if word of such a thing came down the PR wire, I’d have noticed. Still, in the announcement of their Jan. 2020 European run with Dimmu Borgir (meh) and Amorphis (yay) is that somewhat buried lede, which only further piques interest since it means their new album will follow less than three years after Sept. 2017’s Thrice Woven (review here). That’s the shortest span between offerings they’ve had since 2011.

There has to be a word for when a tour is announced and you get all excited and then are disappointed to learn it’s not happening anywhere near where you’re going to be. It’s not quite FOMO, but definitely more than just an “aw shucks” kind of scenario. That specific feeling needs a word. “Geographical displacement,” maybe? I’ll think about it. You do too. We’ll come up with something. Either way, it’s been too damn long since I last saw either Wolves in the Throne Room or Amorphis, so this would be one to catch if I could. Which I can’t.

The PR wire has the info:

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM TO SUPPORT DIMMU BORGIR & AMORPHIS CO-HEADLINE TOUR FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2020

The year 2020 is set to start with a roll of thunder! American post black metallers Wolves In The Throne Room are set to support Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir and Finnish melodic prog metallers Amorphis on their co-headline tour that no metal fan should miss – dates and details below.

Wolves In The Throne Room remark “We are ready to blaze forth across Europe with these two titans of Heavy Metal! Dimmu Borgir and Amorphis are bands that we love and we are looking forward to supporting them on this tour. We will be playing songs off our new album (released by Century Media in February) as well as some classic Wolves material. Thank you!”

Dimmu Borgir comment “We’re going to crush Europe in January next year, and together with AMORPHIS, we’ll make sure that Nordic darkness will create a perfect winter’s storm. See you all soon!”

Amorphis’ Esa Holopainen added: “When the idea of doing a co-headline tour with DIMMU BORGIR came up, it sounded great, but at the same time we were really surprised. However, the more we thought about it, the more it sounded like a perfect match. Musically we are different, but deep down, it’s not really by that much. There’s a lot of similar elements where both bands take their inspiration. Both bands are absolutely unique on stage. It is needless to say that this tour is going to be a true killer with a massive production, that will undoubtedly bring even more coldness into people’s hearts in January 2020. We would also like to welcome WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM to open the evenings.”

See the bands on one of the following exclusive tour dates. Tickets go on sale on August 14th at 10:00 CEST.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM
Supporting DIMMU BORGIR + AMORPHIS

22.01.20 (UK) London – O2 Forum Kentish Town
23.01.20 (F) Paris – Bataclan
24.01.20 (CH) Zurich – Komplex 457
25.01.20 (NL) Tilburg – 013
26.01.20 (D) Wiesbaden – Schlachthof
28.01.20 (D) Munich – TonHalle
29.01.20 (D) Filderstadt – FILharmonie
30.01.20 (D) Berlin – Columbiahalle
31.01.20 (D) Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle
01.02.20 (D) Hannover – Swiss Life Music Hall

Tickets available on www.dimmu-borgir.com & www.amorphis.net

http://wittr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom/
https://shop.wittr.com/
https://artemisiarecords.bandcamp.com/

Wolves in the Throne Room, “Born from the Serpent’s Eye” official video

Golly. I gotta say, to take a look at the new Wolves in the Throne Room video, and to see the upcoming tour dates they’re doing in Europe and the US to support the Sept. 22 release of their new album, Thrice Woven, through their own Artemesia Records, it sure looks like they’re positioning themselves at the forefront of American black metal. I’m sure there are purists who’d quibble with this or that clarification, but stop for a second and consider who’s better suited to the task?

Since their founding 15 years ago, haven’t Wolves in the Throne Room constantly offered an individualized, born-of-the-land take on the style that’s been both of and beyond the conventions of genre? I’d argue yes, and while I wouldn’t profess to be the be-all-end-all expert on the subject, I’d further argue that in so doing they’re the group who’ve most typified USBM’s relationship to the rest of the world’s blackened undergrounds. It is an essential function of American art to be brash, heathen and to work against rigid dogma. Wolves in the Throne Room have done and seem to be continuing to do that.

So if they’re taking their rightful place, all the better. They’ve certainly earned it.

From the PR wire:

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM ANNOUNCE U.S. TOUR

Dates run from September 29 through October 25 – New album Thrice Woven out September 22nd on Artemisia

In preparation for their September 22nd release of Thrice Woven, Wolves in the Throne Room have announced an extensive U.S. tour shortly after the album’s street date. Set to run from September 29th through October 25th with support from Pillorian, the tour will take the bands from coast to coast – check out the full routing listed below.

Since their inception in 2002, over the course of 5 studio albums and hundreds of live performances, Wolves in the Throne Room have refracted Black Metal through their own Cascadian prism. Their songs explore the hidden world of magic that one accesses through dreams, visions and music and the resulting sounds are intimately linked to the wild lands of the Pacific Northwest. Now, a portal into the dreamworld of Wolves in the Throne Room opens again with their forthcoming sixth LP, Thrice Woven – a glorious return to the blazing and furious Black Metal that they alone can create.

Look for Thrice Woven to be available September 22nd on Wolves in the Throne Room’s own label, Artemisia.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, ON TOUR:
UPCOMING EUROPEAN LIVE DATES:
Thu 03/08/2017 RO Arad – Dark Bombastic Evening
Fri 04/08/2017 SL Ljubljana – Kino Siska
Sat 05/08/2017 PL Katowice – OFF festival
Sun 06/08/2017 SK Bratislava – Randal Club
Mon 07/08/2017 HUN Budapest – A38
Wed 09/08/2017 CZ Josefov – Brutal Assault
Fri 11/08/2017 CH Le Locle – Rock Altitude
Sat 12/08/2017 BE Kortrijk – Alcatraz festival
Mon 14/08/2017 RU Moscow – Volta
Tue 15/08/2017 RU St Petersburg – Opera

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM & PILLORIAN:
September 29 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
September 30 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
October 2 Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep
October 3 Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
October 5 Houston, TX @ White Oak (downstairs)
October 6 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
October 7 Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
October 9 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
October 10 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Hell
October 11 Richmond, VA @ Capital Ale House
October 12 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Sound Stage
October 13 Brooklyn, NY @ Villain
October 14 Pittsburgh, PA @ Villain
October 16 Cincinnati, OH @ The Taft Ballroom
October 17 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
October 18 Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th St. Collective
October 20 Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
October 21 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
October 22 Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone
October 24 Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge
October 25 Olympia, WA @ Obsidian

http://wittr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom/
https://shop.wittr.com/
https://artemisiarecords.bandcamp.com/

Wolves in the Throne Room, “Born from the Serpent’s Eye” official video

US black metal aesthetic pioneers Wolves in the Throne Room launched their Artemesia Records imprint with the release in 2014 of Celestite (review here), which was intended as a full-length complement to their 2011 studio outing, Celestial Lineage. On Sept. 22, the Washington natives are set to issue Thrice Woven, their fifth proper long-player, through the same label. The band toured Europe earlier this year, playing Roadburn and Desertfest London, and having just recently performed at Northwest Terror Fest, they’re also set to take part in Psycho Las Vegas this August, still well ahead of the new offering’s release date.

Wolves in the Throne Room have never wavered in their commitment to sonic progression or let go of the atmospheric elements of their approach, and the trailer at the bottom of this post for Thrice Woven would seem to indicate that’s still very much the case. This’ll be one to watch for as 2017 starts to wind down its best-of-the-year list contenders.

From the PR wire:

Wolves In The Throne Room return with a brand new album, Thrice Woven (Artemisia Records, 22 Sept)

Wolves in the Throne Room re-imagine black metal as an ode to rain storms, wood smoke and the wild energies of the Pacific Northwest. They are considered as one of the most potent and highly regarded bands in heavy metal today. Now, a portal into their mythic ethereal heathen landscape opens once again. On September 22nd the band will release THRICE WOVEN on their own label Artemisia Records. It is a glorious return to the blazing and furious Black Metal that they alone can create.

The album begins with “Born From the Serpent’s Eye” a true thrashing black metal epic that is bisected with a haunting northern lament sung by Swedish star Anna von Hausswolff. The band worked with metal documentarians Peter Beste and Nico Poalillo to create a video for this track which captures a bonfire-lit performance in the forest near their Olympia compound. More on this very soon, to tide us over, there’s a trailer which hints at what is to come…

“The Old Ones Are With Us” opens with the crackling of a fire and the voice of Steve Von Till (Neurosis) invoking the springtime thaw. It then storms into a dirge inspired by 90’s Finnish doom with lyrics that celebrate Imbolc, the holy day which marks the end of winter and the first stirrings of spring. Figures from Norse mythology intertwine with personal heartbreak and rebirth in the bleak “Angrboda”. The song is named after a frost giantess who birthed Fenrir Wolf, a beast who was destined to destroy the world and murder the gods.

Fenrir Wolf also appears on the cover of Thrice Woven in a painting by Russian occult artist Denis Forkas. Forkas’ obscure medieval painting techniques perfectly compliment the music of Wolves in the Throne Room, you can explore the glimmering painting at the bottom of this post.

A raven’s wings stir the air in the interlude “Mother Owl, Father Ocean”. Anna von Hausswolff returns in a duet with Turkish harpist Zeynep Oyku, forlorn industrial atmospheres haunt the mix, Hausswolff’s lyrics, sung in Swedish, echo over a barren grey seascape. “Fires Roar in the Palace of the Moon” is the classic Cascadian Black Metal epic, the third eye opens to see holy rivers being born from the ice on the tallest peaks, the lyrics offer blessings to the waters of the earth as they flow from the high places to the source of darkness, the ocean.

When the band returned to the road in summer 2016 long-time touring guitar player Kody Keyworth was welcomed as a full member of Wolves in the Throne Room. On Thrice Woven, Kody contributes raven’s screams and some of the most brutal and dark riffs. The live line-up also features Peregrine Somerville (Sadhaka) playing 3rd guitar and Brittany McConnell (Wolvserpent) on keyboards and percussion. The effect of three guitars on stage is mesmerising and reflects the dark psychedelia of the band’s albums. Check out upcoming live dates below…

UPCOMING LIVE DATES:
Thu 03/08/2017 RO Arad – Dark Bombastic Evening
Fri 04/08/2017 SL Ljubljana – Kino Siska
Sat 05/08/2017 PL Katowice – OFF festival
Sun 06/08/2017 SK Bratislava – Randal Club
Mon 07/08/2017 HUN Budapest – A38
Wed 09/08/2017 CZ Josefov – Brutal Assault
Fri 11/08/2017 CH Le Locle – Rock Altitude
Sat 12/08/2017 BE Kortrijk – Alcatraz festival
Mon 14/08/2017 RU Moscow – Volta
Tue 15/08/2017 RU St Petersburg – Opera

TRACK LIST:
1. Born from the Serpent’s Eye
2. The Old Ones Are With Us
3. Angrboda
4. Mother Owl, Father Ocean
5. Fires Roar in the Palace of the Moon

http://wittr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom/
https://shop.wittr.com/
https://artemisiarecords.bandcamp.com/

Wolves in the Throne Room, Thrice Woven album trailer

Running a pretty wide gamut this week, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. This week is a pretty good example of one where there’s way more added than just what’s listed here, so make sure you check the updates page to see the full list of everything that went on the server. Next thing I knew, I turned around and there was a ton of awesome stuff waiting to go up. Tough times.

It’s been a few weeks doing the adds this way and I’m digging it so far, so I’m going to keep it up, at least until I think of something else or it gets to be a pain or whatever. Thanks for reading and checking out the radio stream.

Adds for June 6, 2014:

Wolves in the Throne Room, Celestite

The much-awaited follow-up to 2011’s Celestial Lineage finds Washington US black metal forerunners Wolves in the Throne Room not quite ready to let go of that album yet. Celestite is intended as a complement to its predecessor, and as the first release on the band’s own Artemesia Records imprint, it comes as a particularly bold move for a band clearly looking to shirk expectation. Its five included tracks are cinematic, ambient set-pieces — instrumental works that, when played at the same time as Celestial Lineage, enhance the atmospheres of those already dense songs. Of course, cuts like the 11-minute opener “Turning Ever Towards the Sun” and the centerpiece “Bridge of Leaves” have value on their own as well, but there’s little denying that the apex of Celestial Lineage in “Prayer of Transformation” is pushed further by Celestite closer “Sleeping Golden Storm” and vice versa. Anyone expecting forest screams or raging blastbeats is in for a surprise, but those who approach with an open mind will be rewarded, which has always been the case with Wolves in the Throne Room‘s work. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

—

Milligram, Live on Pipeline (WMBR)

A band with a reach that has lasted much longer than their actual six-year run, Milligram retain a presence in heavy rock consciousness despite having really only gotten together to open for Kyuss Lives! in 2011 since calling it quits in 2002, prior to Small Stone‘s issue of their This is Class War full-length. Accordingly, the version of “Not Okay” included on this collection of live recordings from the radio station WMBR sounds like a blueprint for some of the soulful heavy vibes Lo-Pan would conjure in their early going. Also included are covers of the Misfits (“We are 138”) and Black Flag (“Jealous Again”), so in addition to hearing Milligram — which in 2000 when Live on Pipeline was recorded was comprised of vocalist Jonah Jenkins (see also Raw Radar War), guitarist Darryl Shepard (see also Hackman, Black Pyramid, Blackwolfgoat, The Scimitar, etc.), bassist Bob Maloney and drummer Zephan Courtney — tear into some of their own material, there’s also a look at their punkier roots. Shepard has begun a series of digital releases of his bands with this, so look out for more. All are available for name-your-price download through his Bandcamp. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

—

Damo Suzuki Møder Øresund Space Collective, Damo Suzuki Møder Øresund Space Collective

Captured live and largely improvised on Valentine’s Day 2013, the 3LP Damo Suzuki Møder Øresund Space Collective indeed proves a match meant to be. The Danish/Swedish space jammers and the krautrock legend — Damo Suzuki has released decades’ worth of solo output and collaborations, but is still best known for his contributions to Can — offer no single piece under 14 minutes long, so I guess as jams go, these worked out. The six inclusions are immediately exploratory, and while at just over two hours, the meeting of these expanded-mind entities can feel a bit like traveling through a wormhole where you snap back to consciousness on the other side and wonder how you got there, each piece also takes on a life and movement of its own, propelled by ceaselessly creative guitar work, engaging rhythmic nod and, naturally, a near-constant swirl of effects. Suzuki‘s voice echoes through “Dit Glimtende Øje” as though beamed in from another galaxy, and his first contact with Øresund Space Collective results in vibrant, cosmic jams that push through the psychedelosphere. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

—

A Sad Bada, White Rivers and Coldest Chains

Chilean four-piece A Sad Bada specialize in post-sludge that is lurching and atmospheric in kind. White Rivers and Coldest Chains is their first full-length, with it they offer five extended tracks of crushing density and grueling nod. They skirt the post-metal line — guitarists Gastón Cariola and Fernando Figueroa, who founded the band in 2008, keep a steady supply of airy echoes on hand throughout — but as a cut like the 11-minute “Hide and Grieve” shows, they’re never quite looking to get away from the sludgy churn of their slower-than-thou progressions, bassist Roberto Toledo and drummer Alejandro Ossandon expertly holding together the songs as Figueroa offers vicious, throaty growls over top. White Rivers and Coldest Chains (out on Australis Records) is intended as a slog, and it is one, but the soundscape that A Sad Bada enact over the course of the album has more appeal than just its tonal weight or extremity. There’s a darkness at its heart that comes from more than just the music itself, and that bleeds from the speakers with every oozing riff. On Thee Facebooks, Australis Records.

—

Phant, The Octophant Pt. II

Newcomer Swedish trio Phant return with their second self-released, digital-only EP in less than a year’s time, bringing their eight-armed elephant mascot deeper into a heavy-riff melee over two more extended tracks and an outro with The Octophant Pt. II. Like their predecessors on The Octophant Pt. I (review here), “Nativitas/Hakaisha” (13:53) and “Magna Cael” (9:31) blend cosmic doom and heavy rock tendencies, finding a cohesive balance of aggression and groove along the way, subtly adding effects amid echoing vocal interplay from bassist Jesper Sundström and guitarist Anton Berglind while drummer Elias Sundberg taps into reaches no less spacious via a constant-seeming wash of cymbals. Found sounds, samples and other sundry weirdness caps The Octophant Pt. II in “Outro Pt. II,” with tales of UFOs and government coverups. How long Phant might continue this series of EPs, I don’t know — they can at least get a trilogy out of it if they want; I’d take another 26 minutes of this no problem — but the heft the three-piece bring to bear across “Nativitas/Hakaisha” and “Magna Cael” also shows they’re more than ready to tackle their debut full-length, should they decide to go that route next. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

—

Other adds to The Obelisk Radio this week include Novembers Doom, the four-way split between Naam, White Hills, Black Rainbows and The Flying Eyes, as well as Recitation, Sunwolf, Godflesh, Dylan Carlson of Earth‘s solo-project, Drcarlsonalbion. For the full list, check the updates page.

Thanks for reading and listening.

I’m not entirely sure I follow Wolves in the Throne Room‘s logic in putting out a companion to 2011’s Celestial Lineage instead of a new album altogether, but if time has proven anything about the Washington-based post-black metallers it’s that they’re way more concerned with expressing themselves on their own terms than with expanding their fanbase. Now that they’re working through their own label, Artemesia Records, I wouldn’t be surprised if the forthcoming Celestite is just the first of many experimental outings to come. They have a dedicated, open-minded audience, and there’s nothing to stop them at this point from exploring whatever sonic avenues might catch their attention.

To wit, this from the PR wire:

Wolves In The Throne Room announce release date of Celestite, to be released on their new label imprint in July

Excitement has been stirring since Wolves In The Throne Room announced the unexpected release of Celestite, an instrumental, experimental companion record to 2011’s Celestial Lineage.

Celestite sees the band take a deeper excursion into the crystalline synthesizer-driven domains that have long intrigued them. With the aid of producer Randall Dunn, the band unearthed a hidden soundscape that is only loosely tethered to their familiar sound, yet is still unmistakably the work of Wolves in the Throne Room.

We are pleased to confirm the release date for Celestite as 7th July in the UK/Europe. The release of Celestite will be the first on the band’s new label, Artemisia Records, which will be their outlet for future recordings.

In the coming months we shall be revealing audio glimpses into this exciting new work, revealing more information about its creation and will of course, be giving you the opportunity to hear the album in its entirety.

Tracklisting:
1. Turning Ever Towards The Sun
2. Initiation at Neudeg Alm
3. Bridge of Leaves
4. Celestite Mirror
5. Sleeping Golden Storm

Since 2002, over the course of 4 studio albums and hundreds of live performances Wolves in the Throne Room have refracted the transcendent and mythic aspects of Black Metal through their own idiosyncratic Cascadian prism. The resulting essence is music that is intimately linked to the wild lands of the Pacific Northwest.

Their songs explore the hidden world of magic that one accesses through dreams, visions and music. As the mind altering pulse of the drums merges with seemingly infinite layers of guitar, an ocean-deep psychedelic soundscape coalesces. Time slows down, a portal opens and the blazing metal riffs collapse and shift into a dirge that invokes a misty other-world. In their songs, rain-drenched spectres loom at the edge of the wood. Ancient cedar beings stir beneath their wet moss robes.

In the Autumn of 2011, their work reached a new level of refinement with the release of Celestial Lineage. In contrast to the bleakly hypnotic architecture of 2008’s Black Cascade, or the more orthodox forms of Two Hunters and Diadem of 12 Stars (2006), Celestial Lineage moved into a more expansive and visionary territory.

US TOUR DATES
7/11 Olympia, WA – Capital Theatre Backstage
7/12 Bellingham, WA – Shakedown
7/13 Vancouver, BC – The Venue
7/14 Seattle, WA – Crocodile
7/15 Portland, OR – Star Theatre
7/16 – OFF
7/17 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
7/18 Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst Atrium
7/19 San Diego, CA – Che Café
7/20 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex

wittr.com
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesinthethroneroom

Wolves in the Throne Room, Celestial Lineage (2011)