Wolvencrown: Of Shadows Still To Come
Black metal in the form we know now may well have its roots in Scandinavia, but as the 21st century rumbles onward it becomes clearer and clearer that some of the best of the genre hail from the collection of islands to the north west of Europe. Be it the Irish giants PRIMORDIAL, English masters of history WINTERFYLLETH or Scottish bards SOAR and RUADH, black metal isn’t just alive in the islands of Ireland and Britain – it is thriving. Ironclad proof of the strength of black metal here, Nottingham atmospheric black metallers WOLVENCROWN are on the cusp of releasing their new EP, A Shadow of What Once Was, in quick succession to their debut full-length, Of Bark and Ash, which dropped right at the end of 2019.
“The UK black metal scene is so healthy at the moment – there’s such a vast amount of talent out there. We’re very fortunate to be able to see that first hand.” Comments guitarist and songwriter Jack Armstrong on the strength of black metal in the UK, and how far the genre has come in just a few short years. “When I was first getting into black metal, about five years before WOLVENCROWN was formed, there was no black metal shows on a local level – it just wasn’t seen here in the same level as it is now. Definitely pre-COVID, and I’m certain post-COVID as well when everyone is gig-starved, whenever a black metal shows comes through here in Nottingham it’s always packed, and in most cases sold out. The black metal scene here is doing really, really well.”
Atmospheric black metal, as a genre, is typically a lyrical pool of history, delving to pagan tales of the misty past, times before Christianity swept the land, nature was worshipped and warfare was visceral. And, indeed, WOLVENCROWN were no strangers to this lyrical theme with their self-titled debut EP and debut full-length Of Bark and Ash. But A Shadow of What Once Was sees the quintet go down a very different path, in terms of lyrical conceptualisation.
“A Shadow of What Once Was Pt 1 is basically a reflection on the current state of the world, and how it can make an individual feel when you’re seeing so much of what’s going on in the news and on social media and whatnot. It can make you feel helpless, and like the only solution to that feeling is suicide or to get as far away from everything as you possibly can. A Shadow of What Once Was Pt 2 builds on that around the same kind of lyrical theme, so it could be one long piece.” Armstrong explains. “And then Coming to an End is all about tying it all up. It’s a little bit of a show that its not all doom and gloom, there will be an end to all of this and there will be a new beginning.”
Obviously WOLVENCROWN are tapping into feelings shared by many across the world at the moment, famine, pestilence and war running unchecked while, on a political level, things are very bleak to say the least. But now they’ve purged themselves, to a degree, with these reactionary lyrics to the world around us, are the band going to further explore the historical tales they made their name with, or is the lyrical direction of A Shadow of What Once Was a sign of what’s to come from WOLVENCROWN in the future?
“It’s hard to say, it all depends on the general vibe at the time we’re writing. But we are an atmospheric black metal band, our bread and butter is the history and folklore of England, so it does seem like a natural step for us to explore that more and expand on what we did with Of Bark and Ash.”
It’s not just the lyrics of WOLVENCROWN that have seen a change with A Shadows of What Once Was. Things sound harsher, and less atmospheric and foreboding than anything the band has released in the past. “A Shadow of What Once Was is definitely a step in a more stripped down, rawer direction. There’s a lot more depressive/suicidal black metal influences there, like SHINING, COLD WORLD, THY LIGHT. That’s as much of an influence as any outside band has had on the writing, even musically this EP is very much a reflection on the current state of the world.”
A Shadow of What Once Was comes remarkably quick after the release of Of Bark and Ash. WOLVENCROWN‘s debut full length dropped in December 2019, and faced with the majority of 2020 spent on furlough with live music but a distant memory, their newest EP comes just 14 months later. With such a quick turnaround, what did the band do differently this time around? “The writing process was definitely more organised this time around. With Of Bark and Ash, we didn’t really have any experience with writing a full album, so with A Shadow of What Once Was we were definitely a lot more cautious about the final product rather than rushing to get something out.”
And WOLVENCROWN seem to be keeping the quick pace going forward. As Armstrong explains, the band have not sat idly in recent months, and don’t plan on resting on their laurels following the release of this EP, taking forward this more measured, mature approach. “We’re pretty much 80% done with writing our second album. I can tell you there is a lot more thought put into the song writing process. There’s many more layers to it, a lot more guitar harmonies, more of the vocals are shared by myself and Nick [Horton, guitars & vocals]. The new album has a more consistent flow, so one song isn’t as dramatically different from the last, and we’re just trying to make it as epic as possible. Everything could change in the studio, though. As it stands, I think it’ll be early 2022 the new album drops, for sure, as we don’t know when we’ll be able to get into a studio this year, but we have a ballpark idea.”
The future of atmospheric black metal is looking very bleak in the best possible way, it seems. The UK is continuing to produce talent the length and breadth of the island, from world beaters like WINTERFYLLETH and SAOR to the swathe of underground heroes alongside WOLVENCROWN. And the strength of A Shadow of What Once Was proves to be a very promising sign of shadows still to come.
A Shadow of What Once Was is out now via Clobber Records.
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