Wolves in the Throne Room @ Whelan’s
Posted on 1st Nov 11 by Jonathan Keane | 
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“…WITTR’s music is one that is hypnotic and entrancing on record and their ceremonial vibe is only accentuated in a live setting…”
When you walk through doors of Whelan’s, what first strikes you is how different the stage looks for Wolves in the Throne Room’s set-up. Obviously the environs of Whelan’s were a bit too small for all their backdrops, with two set up to the side of the stage, touching the floor, two more to each side of the amps on stage and one more behind the drumkit. What relevance is this, you ask. Well, the usually foreboding artwork of Wolves in the Throne Room has swarmed the stage for the night and it adds to the expected drama of the show that goes with the music.
Speaking of dramatic, Idahoan’s Wolvserpent are equally so. The duo of Blake Green and Britanny McConnell play a harrowing slice of droning and ambient doom, characterised by lengthy extended passages. Live, it comes across very well, thankfully. The deep, harsh chug of the guitar and cavernous drumming are all sublime, while the sleek extended ambient mid sections and live violin from McConnell add so much texture and Green’s vocals are coarse, slow, trudging bellows. An unexpectedly impressive set to say the least.
Wolves in the Throne Room won’t be shown up though. Epic has become such a heinously overused word in our modern vernacular but WITTR are just that. Incense burns through the air as the band play immersed almost entirely in darkness, save for a feint orange glow alighting the drumkit. Storming in with Thuja Magus Imperium the band unleashes an almighty rumble with thunderous double bass assault and Nathan Weaver’s corrosive vocals.
WITTR’s music is one that is hypnotic and entrancing on record and their ceremonial vibe is only accentuated in a live setting. I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots is nothing short of jaw dropping, and it gives way to the lethargic set closer, Prayer of Transformation. Also the new album closer, it’s more than fitting to close out a stirring and invigorating show.
Tags: black metal, doom, drone, Nathan Weaver, whelan's, Wolves In the Throne Room, Wolvserpent