WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Thurs 28 June
Tonight is one of the most noteworthy black metal gigs to hit the region in 2018, following another heavy hitter at this venue just over a month ago. A headline performance from Swedish veterans Marduk attracted pangs of discontent about the fascist imagery and/or sympathies of that band and one of the tour supports – a righteous stance slightly undermined by no-one bothering to make a fuss until the day after the show. Here, though, are the altogether more wholesome Wolves In The Throne Room – a sibling duo from the stereotypically indie city of Olympia in Washington state with an interest in ecological radicalism and intermittent code-switching between bombastic blackened shredding and Tangerine Dream-style hippy spacerock.
The Globe is at about 50% capacity – probably for the best given how roasting it gets in summer – as WITTR’s lengthy intro tape of moody synth soundtracks billowing flag backdrops and, presently, ceremonial burning of sage leaves. An ancient cleansing ritual in Native American and other cultures, the assembled metalheads may have been put in mind more readily of a roast chicken dinner; still, when Thuja Magus Imperium’s opening riff kicks in, it’s an undeniable cobweb-cleanser. With the group’s core pair of Nathan and Aaron Weaver swelled to a five-piece for live shows, WITTR are about as watchable as they’ve ever been – pointedly untheatrical by black metal standards, there’s still lots of performative hair tossing and gesticulation amid the smoke.
Selections from latest album Thrice Woven constitute about half the set, and are powerful as any of their previous work: Born From The Serpent’s Eye kids with an almost chorally clean intro, but its intense tremolo blasting is heightened by no less than three guitarists being onstage. Keyboardist Brittany McConnell, who also plays a bass drum positioned at torso height, makes arguably the biggest difference to WITTR’s live sound, though – imbuing songs like Angrboda with a sort of murky grandeur and taking the band towards the regal realms of black metal giants like Emperor and Enslaved.
Any negative points about this show aren’t really on the band: the mix is fairly uneven early on and the audience are statuesque, if appreciative. Wolves In The Throne Room are stoic as they are spectral, however, Nathan Weaver raising a bottle of claret aloft and launching into epic closer I Will Lay Down My Bones Among The Rocks And Roots. A band that has always prized musical evolution while never losing sight of what makes them such a force.
words NOEL GARDNER photos OWEN RICHARDS