Wolves in the Throne Room: Keeping Black Metal Trve (and American!)

Beginning on May 16th in Chicago, Wolves in the Throne Room have been on tour with Krallice and A Storm of Light, revitalizing the black metal scene and burning churches (OK, maybe not so much) in a country that has needed it the most: America. Wolves in the Throne Room have even had the opportunity to play one of the biggest festivals in the states, Maryland Death Fest, alongside Mayhem, Marduk, Atheist and Pestilence.

Outside of Webster Hall in New York, a long line of people (yes, a line!) were waiting anxiously to enter, as tickets and ID's were checked obnoxiously slow. After waiting almost half an hour to enter (even though doors had opened over 45 minutes prior), I finally reached the packed basement. A Storm of Light set the mood for the night with their sludgy doom metal presence. Their live show is















powerful and just as atmospheric as their LP. As for Krallice, well, any band with Colin Marston (Behold... the Arctopus, Byla) needs no introduction. Their style of progressve black metal is crowd friendly in the sense that the hooks will cause any onlooker to nod their head, even for just a bit (of course until they change the time signature). Lastly, Wolves in the Throne Room took the stage with their intense fog machines and candles spread over the stage, which made it even sweeter to watch them. Their intense set was almost non-stop, with little to no crowd discussion. Their style is definitely a matured and revivised form of black metal, comparing this to black metal in its purest sense. Going as far as deeming them a "post-black metal" act, as controversial as it may seem, could most certainly be argued. Even though most of the tour is complete, if one has the opportunity to see this tour, I would approve.

Photos Courtesy of Bill Shouldis via MetalInsider.Net