Wolves In The Throne Room – The Underworld, London 24/05/2010

With the stage set in a mystical fog and the only light being a ray of gold streamed onto the cymbals like a days final sunlight, Olympia’s Wolves In The Throne Room have the venue primed with a reputation which precedes them. The first down-tuned sounds from the band are an enigma of torment and placidity, holding a lasting drama that gently flaunts tones of depth and sorrow.

Wolves in The Throne Room are a humbling black metal proposition, forging new paths for the genre with a boundless appreciation to what has gone before them. Epitomising a live spirit of their own brand, the crashing percussion, consuming riffs and pained vocals perhaps hold a sonic velocity similar to that of Mayhem, Dark Throne or Drudkh whilst soothing tones and tempo take their performance to a new realm of ambience.

Feeling less like a performance that you watch and increasingly like a performance that you experience; the notes seeping from the stage are physically nauseating, alternating between a raw ferocity and hollowing atmospherics. Egos and restraint abandoned – the crowd stand in reverent awe; WITTR are a consuming live entity and one well worth losing yourself too.