Wolves in the Throne Room

Olympia, Washington, would seem to be an unlikely home for one of the world's most inventive black-metal bands. But Wolves in the Throne Room manages to capture the raw and abundant beauty of that land west of the Cascades. Just as Crass turned a sophisticated, leftist critique of modern society...

By Tom Murphy

September 27, 2011

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Olympia, Washington, would seem to be an unlikely home for one of the world's most inventive black-metal bands. But Wolves in the Throne Room manages to capture the raw and abundant beauty of that land west of the Cascades. Just as Crass turned a sophisticated, leftist critique of modern society into unapologetically caustic yet often humorous music, Wolves songs reveal an almost mystical reverence for the earth and natural processes, coupled with a disdain for the technocratic culture. The band's entire aesthetic reflects a yearning for a parallel culture that will subvert the dominant paradigm by uniting sounds both heady and savage with the transcendent and the sublime. This is perfect tribal music for the modern primitive.

Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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