Many purveyors of the dark art of black metal have evolved their sound over the years, incorporating keyboards and symphonics for example, and are now unrecognisable from the bands that the second wave spawned in the nineties. While this is not a problem per se, and I still regularly listen to many of these bands, sometimes I need to return to something a little more primitive and traditional. When I’m in that mood, one of my “got to” bands is Oslo’s 1349, who have been releasing aural hellfire upon the masses with the sole intent of keeping the flame of Traditional Norwegian Black Metal alive since their inception back in 1997. Twenty seven years later, we are presented with the band’s eighth full length ‘The Wolf and The King’ and I was keen to see where their dark path had led them.
Opening track ‘The God Devourer’ sets the scene with its groove laden black metal tomes. Ravn’s harsh, distinctive vocals lead the charge, scything through the maleficent atmosphere being generated, before the track erupts with a couple of guitar solos more reminiscent of a thrash album than black metal but they work well. ‘Ash of Ages’ keeps building the momentum with its confrontational, aggressive almost hypnotic rhythms and as the tracks begin to pass, the album builds an ominous, foreboding atmosphere. ‘Shadow Point’ feels a little more reminiscent of previous 1349 albums with it unrelenting, razor sharp black metal, before ‘Inferior Pathways’ ups the ante, both in terms of speed and aggression, and this will undoubtedly cause pits to erupt once the band tour this album.
In contrast, ‘Inner Portal’ opens with an ominous bass line before the track kicks in, bringing us back to more familiar territory. Closing track ‘Fatalist’ has slightly different vocal style, a little cleaner but with a malevolent deep tone. The track builds in intensity as it grows before its abrupt ending, leaving silence which seems to ring out after what came before.
‘The Wolf and The King’ achieves that fine balance of keeping true to the band’s roots, with that distinctive feeling of Norwegian Black Metal, but also evolving their sound a little and managing to sound contemporary rather than just a throwback, and as such, the album is essential listening for any fan of Black Metal.
(9/10 Andy Pountney)
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