Washington black metallers Wolves In the Throne Room have confirmed that their fifth studio album, Celestite, will be out later this year on their own new label, Diadem Records. This time, however, fans can expect something different from the duo’s previous records; it will not feature the intense blastbeats and shrieking vocals that are standbys for the band. Actually, it won’t feature drums or vocals at all as it appears the record will be an almost entirely atmospherical work that expands on the band’s previous album Celestial Lineage.
Aaron and Nathan Weaver have commented on this new direction:
“To make Celestite, we delved into the subterranean sonics that are buried in the mix of Celestial Lineage. We isolated them, processed them and took this unearthed soundscape as our starting point. Upon this base we recorded an entirely new album. Some melodies from Celestial Lineage are recognizable, but these familiar sounds appear as ghosts, barely tethered to the original compositions. This new album is an unorthodox foray; a fully instrumental, experimental companion record to Celestial Lineage. We left some work undone with Celestial Lineage. The recording of that album in the Winter of 2011 was a monumental project for us personally, and the creative fire from those recording sessions was still burning. This recording process was an opportunity to journey into our own inner universe to complete that which needed to be completed.”
You have to admit that even if the idea of no vocals or drums baffles you, the Weaver’s do make this album sound pretty cool if not a little weird. It is an odd approach and one that will likely polarize fans, but the band’s music has always had ambient and atmospherical qualities so it’s not all that surprising of a direction.
