Wolves in the Throne Room | Artist
Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed 2002 in Olympia Washington, by brothers Nathan Weaver (guitar, vocals, keyboards) and Aaron Weaver (drums, percussion, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals). The third position became a revolving door, initially filled by Nick Paul (guitar, vocals) in 2003, then Rick Dahlin (guitar, vocals) in 2005, Will Lindsay (guitar) in 2008, and finally current-day member Kody Keyworth (guitar, backing vocals) in 2017. The band was conceived by Weaver brothers during a protest for the radical environmental group Earth First! and they state their founding concept is to channel the "energies of the Pacific Northwest's landscape" into musical form. Their excellent debut album Diadem of 12 Stars, released in 2006, was recorded with a budget of only $1100 by Tim Green at Louder Studios in San Francisco. The band played shows on the way down to San Francisco from Olympia to raise money for the project and borrowed equipment from local band Ludicra. Nathan had met singer Jamie Myers from the band Hammers of Misfortune at a squat show in Oakland and asked her to sing on the album. Jamie was nine months pregnant during recording of her vocal tracks. The album attracted the attention of Southern Lord Records, who signed the band. Their second full-length album Two Hunters (2007), the first part of a trilogy of albums concluding with Celestial Lineage, incorporated analogue synthesizers and was the first to be produced by Randall Dunn. Two Hunters received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the band's subtle blending of conventional metal and post-rock genres. They have gone on to release seven full-length albums, two live albums, and two EPs to date. Standout album releases to-date Include Diadem of 12 Stars (2006), Two Hunters (2007), Black Cascade (2009), and Celestial Lineage (2011), Thrice Woven (2017), and Primordial Arcana (2021). The band's sound merges Cascadian eco-spiritual consciousness with the musical tropes of Scandinavian black metal (although their lyrics eschew misanthropy, Satanism, and violence) in a massive, crushing, multi-dimensional sound the band describe as "transformative black metal." Highlighted by ritualistic drumming, layered buzzing guitars, pulsing basslines, and blankets of analog and digital synths with dirty and clean vocals. The band has cited American band Neurosis as a key inspiration because their music "operates on a deep and intense mythic level". They have also mentioned German synthesizer artists like Popol Vuh as an influence. "Wolves in the Throne Room" is a form of "mission statement" reflecting their anarchist, anti-consumerist, and nature-focused philosophy, born from their background as eco-activists who are also fans of black metal. The name combines the wildness of wolves with the idea of a "throne room," symbolizing a rejection of mainstream culture and politics for a more primal and authentic way of life connected to nature.
Artist Website: wittr.com
Featured Albums: Wolves in the Throne Room
Related Artists: Aldebaran, Lord of Lightspeed
