Review WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM ‘Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge’ – EP

American black metal outfit Wolves In The Throne Room recently released a new EP called ‘Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge’. The trio, hailing from Olympia, Washington offers a collage of sounds than what the usual longplayers represent.

The EP includes four songs and each of those has a bit of a different expression. What connects all tracks of this release is a dark and mystic mood that runs through the entire EP It starts with the blazing ‘Beholden to Clan’ which is a dramatic black metal song. Combined with a passion for nature the song is a wild journey that will be appreciated by fans of the band.

The following ‘Twin Mouthed Spring’ is basically taking a similar musical direction although being slower paced. The atmospheric factor instead increases and combined with the acoustic guitar the track gains extra depth. Acoustic guitar and vocals by the way are coming from founding member Cedar Serpent who recently returned to the live stage. The song itself is a gloomy ode that reflects the harshness and beauty of nature.

The bottom part of the tracklist shows a wider approach of the band. ‘Initiates of White Heart’ is a sound collage that puts the cinematic aspect into the spotlight. Mainly acoustic, the tune is a new interpretation of ‘Spirit of Lightning’; a well-done rearrangement that in no way needs to step back behind the original version.

The final chapter on this release is entitled ‘Crown of Stone’. The song is the shortest one on this EP. It is an ambient driven piece with a ritual atmospheric approach. Darkness echoes through each of the notes of a song that is mainly driven by keys and samples.

‘Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge’ is an interesting release. Of course, it helps the band to bridge the waiting time to the next full-length album. In parallel the release allows the band to experiment a bit outside the usual trademarks without losing the connection to the own roots.