Wolves in the Throne Room
Two Hunters
Southern Lord (2007)
The terms "stripped-down," "raw," and "black metal" are certainly no strangers to each other. Musically speaking, some of the best known bands and albums feature less-than-lackluster production and songwriting, a standard set by older bands such as Darkthrone and Burzum, even if unintentionally. Visually and characteristically though, most black metal bands are infamous for being over-the-top, what with all the corpse paint and outrageous pictures most take. You'd be hard pressed these days to find a band that tries to do something ridiculous that hasn't already been done. Wolves in the Throne Room, however, has taken the raw and stripped down approach in quite a different way. Musically speaking they're a more evolved form of Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger or some of Judas Iscariot's later releases, but it's mainly through their ideals and practices that they have managed to stick out amongst the pack of Burzum-clones and Xasthur-one-man-bedroom-band wannabes. While most black metal bands openly reject mainstream consumer culture, Wolves in the Throne Room actually lives this creed, as these three guys live on a self-sustained farm in rural Washington where they grow their own food and raise their own livestock. This "back to roots" lifestyle is a perfect reflection of … Read more
Grizzly Bear
Friend
Warp (2007)
Having heard Grizzly Bear's Horn of Plenty when it was first released and liking it quite a lot, I was … Read more
