TWO HUNTERS

EDIT, more than a year later. This is my favorite black metal which (at least for me) is what all other black metal bands have to live up to! This album sets the bar where atmospheric beauty is combined with raw power meet, and is yet to be beaten. I've grown used to the blast beats, and every song is basically perfect in its own way. 5 star album!

With little doubt this is my favorite Black metal band, Wolves in the throne room is a trio hailing from Washington state, where they raise livestock, and play incredible music. Two hunters shows two sides to their music, unlike Diadem of twelve stars which, besides some acoustic interludes, is primarily metal madness (not to say it's a worse album). From the opening track to the last seconds of I will lay my bones, you are captured by the sheer power and brutality of this group.

The first track Dia Artio is surprisingly not metal, but an ambient atmospherical track where you can really tell that the album was recorded on a cassette recorder just by earthiness about it. You go on to the next track, the epic vastness and sorrow where the metal takes full swing. At first I was disgusted by the drumming, SNARE KICK SNARE KICK SNARE KICK, over and over again, and barely gave any these song a chance, but with a little persistence, my attention made it to the middle of this song where the drums slow to a forceful driving beat that is just irresistibly awesome! After I listened to this section of the song I was hooked on the album, especially with the incredible guitar solo that comes right afterwords. You go on to cleansing and the eighteen minute long I will lay down my Bones by the Rocks and the Roots, where we are introduced to the creepy enigmatic female vocals and native American-esque songs. The last few minutes of the closing song are some of the most powerful I've yet to witness in any song, imagine the closing minutes to Close to the edge (I get up, I get down), but black metal, and you have some kind of taste to the closing of this song.

After listening to Diadem of Twelve stars, you kind of wish they'd bring back the horrifying death metal vocals to two hunters, sadly we are only left with the shrieking, and female vocals, good thing is, is that the lead singer's shriek/scream has become more solid and terrifying. One of the only flaws to this album is that the ridiculous black metal drumming rears it's ugly head one too many times, I don't understand why they have to play those stupid beats! Overall a very solid album, I love the fact they used an eight track cassette recorder to this album, it's a good break from the crystal clear, overly shiny music of today. There needs to be more black metal like this.

4 stars