Review: “A Shadow Of What Once Was” by Wolvencrown

Adorned with the stunning artwork of Joan Llopis Domenech (Lustre, Sojourner, Ruadh), the follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed album “Of Bark And Ash” from Nottingham atmospheric Black Metal act Wolvencrown has to be considered in the highly anticipated category. The band are known as storytellers and the power and emotion that radiates from their previous chapter of their enthralling tale, this new release represents a door left ajar with cracks of light shining through, so in its listening we may forsee what their next offering could hold and if the time spent building their previous magnum opus has breathed new life into their cold frostbitten bones.

The caustic vocals that pour out of the mouth of guitarist and vocalist Nick are the cries of a banshee as his classic Black Metal shrill screams echo around your skull during the opening ceremony that is “A Shadow Of What Once Was“. Rich buried synths provide undercurrent of meloncholic atmosphere with an almost organ esq presence, while mid-tempo percussive work builds slowly into a full on onslaught that bulldozes its way through everything in its way in a finale befitting of the black majesty of the song itself. The atmosphere is key and the craftsmanship involved in building from a single black cloud to a relentless storm is not something that should be underestimated. Once the powe of the first half of the title track subsides, you’re left with its bitter and twister half brother, an equally driven partner that continues to take the low road to hell but with a little less majesty and a little more brute force, thanks to the keyboards dropping out almost completely until the final passage, where upon they rise to take hold and give everything a cinematic edge. After the savage beauty of the title pairing, “Coming To An End” plays a mournful lament for the passing of the ages with the synths playing out once again majestically over a post war battlefield in Medieval times where the victors come to realise the horror of what has happened. A lesson in how to create something powerful and enthralling, Wolvencrown show no mercy as they sit upon their throne [8/10]

Track listing

1. A Shadow Of What Once Was Part I
2. A Shadow Of What Once Was Part II
3. Coming To An End

“A Shadow Of What Once Was” by Wolvencrown is out 26th February 2021 via Clobber Records