ALBUM REVIEW: Estuary – Wolves In The Throne Room
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have spent years trying to perfect the art of black metal, and even though it is impossible to perfect every single aspect of any music genre, with each release, this four piece continue to grow. On Estuary, this could not be more evident. The vocals are outstanding and the guitar melodies are truly haunting, resulting in one of the best black metal albums you will hear this year.
Estuary starts off with its title track. Kicking off with the first atmospheric guitar riff, a doom metal esque riff follows alongside the vocal introduction. This brooding riff develops into something far more intense as this opener progresses. Halfway through the song, the tone of the guitar riffs change, as the vocals are more guttural than earlier. The doom metal vibe returns afterwards to finish the song off in a much more melancholic way.
The following track, Knights Of Tiamat, is atmospheric in a different way to the title song. This has choirs to implement the ambience alongside the guitars. The unique guitar riff that first opens the song with the backing vocals, backs the harsh vocals when they first come in. Another aspect of what makes this song unique is the fact that there is a chorus. One that is actually catchy too. Following this first chorus, another more gloomy part arrives with the guttural vocals that first made an appearance in the title track. This is then followed by a guitar solo that can only be described as intense. With blast beats leading it, the solo on this track is incredibly technical yet short. Knights Of Tiamat ends as it started, as slow and atmospheric as possible.
The fifth song on the album, Ghosts Among The Obelisks, is one of the most ambient. Designed to be as melody driven as possible, the guitar playing is written intricately so that this is noticeable from the opening few minutes. Each guitar driven melody here is written to connect with the others that came before it, and the vocals add another layer of atmosphere to better set the tone for each section on this song. The true highlight here is the gorgeous ending. Dual guitar melodies intertwine together to create what is easily the biggest sounding ending on the entire record.
Estuary has it all. It has thrashier moments, doom metal moments and that iconic black metal ambience fans of this subgenre adore. This album also seems complete as although there are only six tracks, they all last a big amount of time, making sure the music is plentiful. This showcases that these wolves have mastered the howling it takes to create a black metal behemoth, and they will only howl louder and louder.
Rating: 9/10
Estuary is out now via Century Media Records.
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