When we last heard from Washington black metal duo Wolves in the Throne Room, they promised that Celestite, their companion album to Celestial Lineage, would be a pretty strict departure from that album. In fact, they said there’d be no drums or vocals at all. This is what they said about it at the time:
“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.”
It seems like that journey involved a lot of Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream, as they’ve unveiled the first track from the album, “Celestite Mirror.” It’s every bit as atmospheric as promised. The 15 minute track is awash in synth pads and choir-like strings, which as Axl from Metal Sucks notes, is reminiscent of Vangelis’ Blade Runner score. If all of this sounds intriguing to you, you’re probably already listening to the 15-minute long song. If you’re expecting the same black metal intensity of Celestial Lineage, you should probably move on. However, if you like instrumental atmospheric music, or want to put on the soundtrack to the most metal massage you’ll ever get, listen to this now.
Celestite will be released on July 8th via the band’s own label, Diadem Records.
