Wolves in the Throne Room

Two Hunters

Southern Lord 2007

Maybe it is the sophomore jinx but somehow I am not as impressed with the new WITTR as I thought I was going to be.  They have seemingly streamlined their sound to a more straight-ahead black metal band that is focusing on atmosphere above experimentation and stylistic creativity.  As a consequence Two Hunters is an album that doesn't contain the excitement nor the magic of Diadem of 12 Stars.  Two Hunters contains four tracks though Dia Artio is really an extended intro of sweeping instrumentation that is the perfect setup to WITTR's more subtle sound.  The next three songs are black metal with grand melodies and furious drumming that also break into some interesting arrangements and include female vocals and tribal drumming (Cleansing) as well as moving acoustic guitars (I will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots).  These creative injections serve to keep things intriguing but the black metal sections are more standard and straight ahead than I would have though based on prior experience with WITTR.  One thing that doesn't help with the feeling on this album is the production.  Everything seems a little more muted and subdued than on the debut and this serves to lessen the emotional power of the songs though it certainly does have much more organic sound which is what I feel they were aiming for.  But both the drums and guitars sound thinner and all the sharpness of the instrumentation has been stripped away.  With Two Hunters, WITTR have lost some of the freshness and exhilaration that their debut album brought forth on a stagnant underground.  With that said Two Hunters is not really a bad album, in fact is is actually pretty good.  It just doesn't have the same impact as Diadem of 12 Stars which was one of my favorite albums of 2006.  I still believe though that WITTR is a band with great potential and I feel they will grow and rebound with a stronger album next time around.