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Watain: The wild hunt

02/08/13 || Lord K Philipson

I have said this before, but it needs repeating. Global Domination’s policy is to not download albums illegally. We stream through Spotify if needed (the “legal” way to not buy all the music you wanna hear. The service that really compensates the artists in question… eh… but that’s another story). We buy albums or use official links from the bands in question that point to the material, with their consent, if we feel anything is remotely relevant for us to cover. Or, you know, we use stuff from our own collections that we have built up over the last 500 years. Not to mention – we review every little shitty CD we get sent to us. I believe we’re quite special in that way. And yes, special as in retarded coz who the fuck cares so much about metal as to write about some 30 absolutely ridiculous and unknown demos every month?

Global Domination – that’s who. The Supporters Of Shitty Metal.

Just kidding, we fucken hate shitty metal around this place, so it’s nice of Century Media to acknowledge the superiority that is Global Domination by handing us advance links (this one is to be released on August 19th in Europe and on August 29th in the You Es Of Ey, 2013, a couple of three weeks or so after this is being published) of high profile, supposed-to-be-great releases. We dig that. It’s a nice breath of fresh (metal) air in between the diarrhea infested shit we mercilessly and (un)willingly have go thru all too often here when we review music.

They, Century Media, haven’t started to ignore us yet becoz we have ripped some of their stuff new assholes in the past, the MO of many other labels that don’t see eye-to-eye with how we honestly treat their releases. That’s how it works, most labels expect a website to praise their stuff just becoz they kindly give it to you in advance. That shit doesn’t fly around here. So, kudos to Century Media for being above that bullshit. We’ll see if they will still be this cool when we eventually piss on the next 15 releases from them, huh?

You still here? Then, let’s move on to the actual review, huh?

By now you should know this – I am very selective when it comes to black metal and what bands I dig in this particular genre. I can probably count the acts I fully enjoy on my 10 fingers, meaning that when I, by free will, take on a black metal band to review – you better be fucken sure I expect great things from it. I can’t spend my precious time reviewing shit (unless it’s black metal bands from Italy who send us hatemail when we don’t give them glowing reviews for their incredibly lame and sorry-ass “music” – then it’s all worth it). I’m way too picky about sound issues to give a shaved cock about the tr00 and necro bands with “productions” that I could have shat out on a Friday night after 6 million beers and a year’s supply of heroin injected into my arteries. I want music to be presented in the best way possible, it’s really that fucken simple. Tracking your ridiculous shit on a 4-tracker and sending it out with the accompanying unreadable logo and a photo with a bunch of corpsepainted idiots will never cut it for me.

I. Wa(tai)nt. Quality.

See what I did there? I’m here all week, thank you.

There’s a lot of reasons why Watain’s got my respect since the day I first heard them (which was with “Sworn to the dark” actually since I’m such a connoisseur when it comes to black metal, and I am also very, very old-school. So old-school I discover some bands later than others just becoz it’s cool as fuck to do so). I love when a band is devoted to what they do, when they truly believe in their craft and when they actually have the muthafucken music to back everything up. Then it all works. I mean, seriously, just check out Blümchen – that’s devotion and quality right there. If one of those ingredients that I just mentioned is missing out, chances are they will be overlooked by Yours Truly. And trust me, that’s their loss – not mine.

Let’s get this out of the way; I have heard the stuff prior to “Sworn” now, when I have done my homework. I don’t dig it too much. I recognize it for what it is, and I understand where it’s coming from, but, as I said, there’s just something missing in it for me to fully enjoy it. Obviously they got that missing link right the fuck smack into the mix with “Sworn”, and after that Watain turned into one of the few bands I truly enjoy within black metal. Actually, they did so to the extent that I even ordered myself one of their beautiful hoodies from their webshop. I gladly give Watain some of my hard-earned cash to support their agenda. “Lawless darkness” is a great album as well, but I still hold “Sworn” as the better one of the two, though “Lawless” is, as mentioned, a great fucken piece of black metal artistry.

After reading a few interviews with Watain in promotion of this new one, “The wild hunt”, my interest peaked since there was a bit of talk about vocalist E doing clean vocals on it among other things. I like that way of thinking, when people try to push their music into other territories without giving a fuck about what other people may think and without losing the essence of what they do.

Watain didn’t fucken lose any of their essence. They simply enhanced it and broadened their vision of what Watain is, and could be.

I applaud it.

Yes, you read “clean vocals” a few sentences up… Is your “Watain’s sold out, I’m too tr00 for school!” radar going off yet? Well, “The wild hunt” is hardly what you’ll hear on the radio anytime soon, so chill little bitch. You want the raging onslaught you have come to love with these guys? Then put on the second track (album opener “Night vision” is actually a beautiful, instrumental intro, so the second tune is what you’d call the first “real” song) “De profundis” and ask yourself if Watain sold out. You already heard the single “All that may bleed”, didn’t you? Or you could lend an ear to “Sleepless evil” and reconsider your thoughts about this band being anything close to selling out. Or, you know, you could put on any other song on this platter and be done with it. People who scream “SELL OUT!” as soon as a band who’ve done pretty much the same thing their entire career suddenly reaches popularity and mainstream attention should go fuck themselves. You know absolutely nothing. Just drop that shit, you hear?

Listen. Fathom. Repeat.

What I dig the most with Watain is when they enter their majestic “put the biggest reverb in the world on these toms and snare and we’ll, BY SATAN!, show you how this shit is done!” sections. I’ll never get enough of that. And trust me, you’ll find your fair share of those on this here piece of music. What I enjoy the least is when absolute chaos takes over, and those moments are present on “The wild hunt” as well. To expect anything else would be stupid since it’s part of what Watain do. Bottom line is that it wouldn’t be Watain were it not for all of these ingredients making up their music. And understand, I said “enjoy the least”, not “do not enjoy”. Watain’s strongest assets are the chilling atmosphere they create every so often as well as the remarkable melodies that appear when you least expect it.

To sum things up… “The wild hunt” is relentless from start to finish, but in many different ways than you’re used to with these guys. Just check the awesome tune “Outlaw” for example… or you know… why not that song with clean vocals? You think you can handle it?

And the oh-so important matter of production values? It is of course excellent. Tore Stjerna and Necromorbus Studio, you know. Can’t go fucken wrong with that.

After quite a bunch of spins of this album, this is the verdict:

Even though I still hold “Sworn to the dark” as my fave, Watain will continue their victorious march with “The wild hunt”, and rightfully so.

Information
Released: 2013
Label: His Master’s Noise / Century Media
Website: www.templeofwatain.com
Band
E: vocals
P: guitars
H: drums
Set: guitars (live)
A: bass (live)

01. Night Vision
02. De Profundis
03. Black Flames March
04. All That May Bleed
05. The Child Must Die
06. They Rode On
07. Sleepless Evil
08. The Wild Hunt
09. Outlaw
10. Ignem Veni Mittere
11. Holocaust Dawn

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