WOLVENCROWN formed in Nottingham, England, in 2015. Following the release of their debut self-titled EP in 2017, they released their debut full-length "Of Bark and Ash" in late 2019. This Atmospheric Black Metal band has had several positive reviews, and now comes Metal Temple to the plate to see what they are all about. The album contains eight tracks.

"Earths Eternal Dawn" leads us off, with a fairly traditional Black Metal blueprint. Some atmospheric elements can be heard in the background, with haunting keys. An ambient passage appears after the half-way mark, as things slow down. "1194 Pt. 1" opens with a slower moving groove, driven by guitars. Soon, that "wall of sound" appears amidst raging vocals. The atmospheric elements are mixed in but do not take over the main sound. "1194 Pt. 2" picks up where the previous track ends. The guitars drive the sound here again, creating a despondence that permeates the track. Lead guitars can be heard at one point, creating another layer of sound, but the keys stay pretty buried in the mix, to my chagrin.

"Infernal Throne" opens with an air of depression. The guitars create these big accents and the vocals are limited, allowing the sound to develop. It's fast moving four-minute track. "Of Bark and Ash" is just a little slower, with again those guitars leading the sound. There just isn't enough variation here on the album. "Towards Broken Depths" has a fairly traditional Black Metal sound, with the guitars once again leading the way, and the drums keeping a high presence. An ambient passage appears around the half way mark, and then it's a spring to the end. "Destined" is the longest song on the album, at over seven minutes in length. It opens with acoustic guitars and a despondent, melancholy feeling. From there it stays within the boundaries of the genre.

"S.A.D." closes the album. It opens with some droning passages while the vocals rage over top. The guitars start to intertwine which is nice and you can hear the keys more clearly here as well. It closes with the most depressing feeling that the album has to offer. Overall, while I liked the album, I feel the band played it safe too much, which is understandable for a debut album in the genre. If they took even a few risks in the next release, it might make for a very memorable listening experience...some more ambient passages for example. The genre has a lot to offer fans but they didn't do much to distinguish themselves from the thousands of other bands playing in this style of music.