Even though there are plenty of great black metal bands from America, I still feel like the scene gets ignored in favor of the European, Scandinavian or Russian scenes.  But bands like WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM constantly prove that our scene is just as rich and important.  Formed in 2002, the band has been at the forefront of the American black metal scene for some time.  "Primordial Arcana," is their seventh full length album.  They also have two EP's, two live albums and two demos under their belt.

"Primordial Arcana," has shorter tracks than some of their other albums (especially their earlier ones) but every track is perfect and progresses the band's sound while also showing respect to their past.  I will say the last track, the ambient instrumental "Eostre," sounds like it should have been the album's intro instead of the final performance.  Regardless, it is a stellar instrumental and track placement doesn't hurt what I find to be flawless album.

The album is quite a bit more straight forward than previous albums, and I obviously don't mean that in a bad way.  So what do I mean exactly?  I mean this is a focused, powerful record by a band that has clearly been reinvigorated.  This is a hungry and exciting sounding album that is wide in scope and zeroed in on execution. Working with powerful but clear production, the individual instruments shine through on each track.  If each song is a large puzzle, then you can hear every little piece and nuance that helps make up the greater whole.  That may seem like anathema to some black metal purists but WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have always gone against the grain in a scene that prides itself on, well, going against the grain.

Folk and ambient elements abound plenty here, which should not surprise anyone who has been following the band.  With that being said, the band reigns in tighter their black metal elements but not to an overpowering degree.  They are much too great of songwriters to let any one element try to take over the mix. Although the album certainly has moments of pure speed and aggression, the overall sound is more somber and atmospheric than a collection of barn burners.  I wouldn't have it any other way because these type of songs need time to grow, to change form and function. The variety on display across the seven tracks is outstanding and its even more impressive that it still sounds like one cohesive piece instead of a random collection of songs. Again, it is their songwriting skills that always bring their ideas to the successful fruition.  I already mentioned the ambient piece, "Eostre," so lets dive into the other six epic tracks.

"Mountain Magick," opens the album opens the album with quiet, sparse, ambient sounds that are indeed building up to more robust pastures.  The drums, which are exceedingly powerful, ignite the spark for the wildfire of guitars.  While the guitars craft their blackened  yet atmospheric and melodic guitars, the bass throws down hard as do the raspy blackened screams. Bursts of speed are intertwined with more laid back, melodic moments but each piece builds upon the tension created in the beginning's build up. The last few minutes are filled with subtle keys, soaring leads and the deep rumbling on the earthy drums.

"Spirit Of Lightning," combines ambient and folk textures to give the song an old, ritualistic quality.  This is a perfect sound because it is black metal to a "t" yet distinctively played the way only WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM can do.  I LOVE the drums on this song and the clean instrumentation that melds in with the extreme aspects.  This whole song sounds like next level stuff for the band and indeed it is. I liked the middle portion a a lot as well because it opened up the song and made it feel miles high and wide.  The quiet part just before the five minute mark echoes the track's beginning and then the band finishes out the song with every element presented coming into play.

"Through Eternal Fields," is one of my favorite tracks on the album because there are so many great things happening here.  The intro is spacey and even a little creepy but it really grabbed me with its slow dirge that just seems to naturally expand out and grasp its emotions over everything other aspect.  When the guitars kick into overdrive around the 1:25 mark, the whole song just somehow gets bigger and more powerful. The movement at 3:42 is massive dissonant tones and tribal like drumming-one of the coolest parts in the whole album.  It is just so...heavy without actually being heavy.  I love it.  And I love the guitar that creeps back in behind the drums and just adds even more dimensions.  The last minute of the song is very moving to me for some reason and I suppose that says a lot about the music.

And then we come to "Underworld Aurora," which earns its place as a strong contender for one of my favorite WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM songs of all time. The very texture and fabric of the song took my mind to places that don't exist, grabbed my imagination and took me to dark worlds of inspiration and danger.  To me, this song represents everything that is so goddamn great about this band.  The whole song has a natural and organic way of moving from the beginning to the end and fills it all up with so many great elements. The ambient soundscapes from the beginning set it all up and lay the moving foundation that grabbed me so.  The guitars are so important to this song yet they aren't flashy but instead integrate into the song's skeleton to help form this beast. From the scream at 5:30 all the way to the end, the band shines as it all falls into place.  I honestly can't understand how someone could hear this song and not be moved or shaken to their core.

The final track, "Masters Of Rain And Storm," is over ten minutes long and, in places, is some of the most intense music the band has written.  The guitars and vocals during the opening moments are raw and outspoken, commanding the power of black metal in a very extreme way that I feel has been missing from the band's sound for a couple of albums.  This one is also more riff oriented and even got my head banging a few times, something I don't always do with this style of black metal.  The keyboards and what sounds like very light vocals, layer the song with outside the box approach that expands their sound.  There is an acoustic interlude built in after the six minute mark and the band bravely pulls  it off, depositing it in the middle of the chaos and somehow making it work so well that without it the song would be less.

"Primordial Arcana," is the statement that WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM have spent their entire career building up to.  There are always personal reasons as to why a band's album may be a favorite but as far as songwriting goes, this one is without a doubt their best.  I can say with confidence that as of the time of this review, "Primordial Arcana," is the best black metal album I've heard this year so far.  A true masterpiece.