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░ ██ ██ Artist: The Wolves of Avalon ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Across Corpses Grey █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2016 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2016-04-03 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Black Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Godreah Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Hot on the heels of the impressively staffed, yet █
█ extremely short, Die Hard EP, Metatron and his █
█ merry band of pagan folk metal miscreants known as █
█ The Wolves of Avalon are dropping Across Corpses █
█ Grey, the project's third full length album. Those █
█ familiar with Metatron's work with The Meads of █
█ Asphodel will immediately recognize his signature █
█ all over the place, but, by and large, The Wolves █
█ of Avalon project has tended to be a little less █
█ experimental in nature than the recent output from █
█ The Meads. █
█ Perhaps it was time for The Wolves of Avalon to █
█ branch out with something a little more █
█ adventurous. There really wasn't much wrong with █
█ the band's previous two full length albums, but █
█ they didn't really capture that off the wall style █
█ that has made Metatron's writing so damn █
█ intriguing over the years. Truthfully, the album █
█ doesn't stray all too far from where The Wolves of █
█ Avalon were at on the last album, but structurally █
█ this is in a completely different league. The █
█ album is presented as a single, thirty minute █
█ track. It waxes and wains between thundering pagan █
█ heavy metal to progressively-tinged folk music. █
█ It's nearly impossible to describe how the track █
█ plays through without resorting to a play by play, █
█ so it should suffice to say that it's constantly █
█ moving, flowing and pulsing. Short sections of █
█ catchy, hard hitting riffing and rollicking █
█ percussion merge with airy passages of somber █
█ melodies and take a left turn into crunchy, almost █
█ thrashing riffs. Metatron's gruff, barked vocal █
█ delivery sounds harsh and unyielding, yet a subtle █
█ barrage of clean oohs and aahs take away the edge. █
█ Although it's a beast of a track, a wide array of █
█ traditional folk instruments, including cello, █
█ flute and violin, piece together the movements █
█ into a seamless, thirty minute run through the █
█ fields of war. █
█ While Across Corpses Grey does feature two █
█ additional tracks, the previously mentioned Venom █
█ classic ôDie Hardö and Nokturnal Mortum's ôThe █
█ Voice of Steelö, the centerpiece and main focus is █
█ certainly the sprawling folk epic. The Nokturnal █
█ Mortum cover offers a fine rendition, yet one █
█ can't help but wonder how it would have sounded if █
█ they ramped up the folk elements a tad. As much as █
█ a I love the band's cover of ôDie Hardö, it feels █
█ a little out of place next to the more somber and █
█ ponderous moments of the other two tracks, but, █
█ damn, did they nail that song. █
█ Across Corpses Grey continues the band's █
█ pagan-tinged attack, with a bevy of folk █
█ instruments lurking throughout. It's The Wolves' █
█ finest hour, for sure, as the thirty minute █
█ playtime passes by quickly, with no time wasted. █
█ Perhaps by linking all of these movements into one █
█ rock solid song, it forces the listener to become █
█ enveloped in their world and not miss out by █
█ abusing the skip button. Thirty minutes of somber, █
█ progressive, pagan-tinged metal, plus two covers; █
█ you can't go wrong. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Across Corpses Grey 30:04 ░
░ 2. The Voice of Steel (Nokturnal Mortum 8:46 ░
░ cover) ░
░ 3. Die Hard (Venom cover) 3:35 ░
░ 42:25 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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