ALBUM REVIEW: Wolves Among the Ashes – Svart Crown
Powering through the underground since the early 2000s, SVART CROWN has become one of European extreme metal’s underdogs, but since releasing the incredibly well received Abreaction in 2017, Jean-Baptiste “JB” Le Bail has had to rebuild the French blackened death metal outfit from the ground up. After a mass-exodus from the band following the intense touring schedule of Abreaction, Le Bail was left as the sole member of the band before bringing bassist Julien Negro into the fold and musically reconnecting with former members, drummer Nicholas Muller and guitarist Clément Flandrois. Feeling stronger than ever, Le Bail is set to unleash Wolves Among the Ashes – the crowning glory for SVART CROWN thus far.
Le Bail and co. keep things dark and foreboding, with opening track They Will Not Take Our Death in Vein serving as an introductory statement. Samples of infamous cult leader Jim Jones, sinister riffing and a terrifying vocal assault brings an unnatural level of intensity for a track clocking in at under two minutes, before the quartet dive into the first full track, lead single Thermageddon. Mid-career esque BEHEMOTH inspired brutality mixes with a level of chaos and sonic violence akin to VITRIOL here, before SVART CROWN delve into a more ominous sounding, strangely catchy progression. The pseudo-clean vocals utilised here offer a touch of melody in the violence, and keep the chorus memorable, while bursts of solo work further help lift the single. So far, so brilliant.
After a suitably violent start, SVART CROWN take a sharp left-turn with Art of Obedience, taking notes from their countrymen GOJIRA with their use of unsettling atmospherics and wall-to-wall groove before bringing Gregorian chants and an old-school death metal swagger to the forefront with album highlight Blessed Be the Fools. At the Altar of Beauty keeps the high quality mid-section of Wolves Among the Ashes rolling forward, returning to the black-metal-heavy sound SVART CROWN do best – the short, post-metal interlude in the last push of At the Altar of Beauty comes as an interesting choice, feeling slightly out of place, but haunting none the less.
Speaking of haunting soundscapes, SVART CROWN push into the last chunk of Wolves Among the Ashes with the hypnotic and deeply unsettling Down to Nowhere. Atmospheric, doomy and troubling, Down to Nowhere utilises clean singing and whispered vocals to wonderful effect, coming as the most unexpected wildcard on the record – but a welcome dose of melody. Single track Exoria brings the soundscape brilliance of Down to Nowhere and injects it with a touch of energy and aggression, twisting and turning through more GOJIRA-like progressions, crushing grooves and dark melodies. Finally, the quartet come to album closer Living With the Enemy – Eastern melodies and droning vocals take centre-stage for the opening couple of minutes, before Le Bail and co. throw down with a masterclass in blackened death metal to drive Wolves Among the Ashes to its close.
When SVART CROWN are hitting with all their strength, their form is unbeatable. However, Wolves Among the Ashes suffers from one key downfall – a lack of focus. Le Bail is channelling so many influences throughout the record that he loses a bit of the classic SVART CROWN sound, and while it must be acknowledged that taken individually each and every song on the record is exemplary, as a whole Wolves Among the Ashes is hurt by a lack of unification, feeling more like a collection of individual moments of brilliance than a full work in its own right. That said, the songwriting throughout and flawless execution shows Le Bail has big things in mind for the future of SVART CROWN, with his mind on sonic evolution and the line-up stronger than ever, the Frenchmen are in a very strong position moving forward.
Rating: 7/10
Wolves Among the Ashes is out now via Century Media Records.
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