Wolves in the Throne Room – “Diadem of 12 Stars”
Remarkable work, set within raw black metal, which despite its deceptive categorical limits, opens up a musical dexterity and variety that is a wonderful surprise. The four long songs take up 60 minutes and deliver, of course, lots of blasting and grim vocals, which interacts with twisted melodies, some clean singing, low growling, serene moments that, within the 13-minute-plus framework of the compositions, impress. It is true that with these types of songs there is no quick, immediate satisfaction. It’s in the long term that the songs begin to make more sense. If it’s not too offensive or hackneyed to state it thus, they are carrying out with black metal the spirit of what Opeth realized with death metal.