As if this was ever going to be rubbish. For my money the forerunners of the current proponents of UK Black Metal, Wodensthrone’s 2009 debut ‘Loss’ was something of a barnstormer, a sweeping, relentless, windswept attack of an album. Critics could perhaps suggest that it was a little one-note in tone but it was impossible to argue with the sheer confidence and panache of the band. So, a high-profile label switch, a couple of years of silence and then to the ‘difficult second album’, Curse – and its like they’ve never been away.

Not to take anything away from them but Wodensthrone’s recipe is a deceptively simple one – one part ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’-era Emperor and one part hypnotic Ukrainian black metal rage a-la Drudkh/Hate Forest – yet it’s an incredibly potent one. The music is thunderous, imperialistic and majestic yet shot through with moments of glacial reflection. Within the first minutes of ‘Jormungandr’, the listener is transported to another world, galloping across ancient landscapes of heath and hoarfrost. It’s a real journey.

One word that continually crops up is ‘huge’ – the album sounds massive. This is aided in no small part by the production skills of Esoteric front man Greg Chandler (lending the album the power AND separation needed for such material) but also the band’s instinctive grasp of how to pen the truly EPIC. Just listen to ‘Battle Lines’ and the way it swoops from guitar-led Emperial violence to shimmering classical synthscapes that wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings films or the much-lauded computer game ‘Skyrim’. Truly excellent stuff.

There have been some rearrangements in the ranks of these Northmen that is true, however these have had anything but a detrimental effect on the band. The synths of Árfæst pick up the richly-textured ball laid down by ex-keysman Aethelwalh and run with it, adding colour and drama to the proceedings yet never dominating. In addition, vocal duties are now shared by axemen Wildeþrýð and Rædwalh – yet far from compromising the band’s sound, have only added to it. Former shrieker Brunwulf was powerful but perhaps a touch limited in his delivery and the interplay between the impassioned howls of the guitarists injects yet more feel into the soundscapes here. Doubling up their duties has in no way diluted their work with the strings and indeed, the riffage reaches heights of sheer distorted fury on ‘First Light’ and ‘The Storm’

Throw into the mix the occasional progressive flourish (‘The Great Darkness’ has a nicely distended-yet-melodic refrain) and the strident, slow-burning epic power of the final track ‘The Name of the Wind’ and we really are looking at the complete ‘epic black metal’ package. Soaring, powerful and nearly overwhelming in scope, ‘Curse’ should elevate Wodensthrone to the forefront of the UK extreme metal canon.

(9/10 Frank Allain) 

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