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Artist......: Wolftower
Album.......: Crownless King of the Dismal Dark Empire
Year........: 2023
Genre.......: Black Metal
Type........: Album
Label.......: Inferna Profundus Records
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (16bit)
Quality.....: 823kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 9 tracks
Playtime....: 00:30:15
Size........: 180.9 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-10-13
S.Date......: 2023-02-24
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/d6eu3q21bc3xa
01. Banners in Nightsky 1:36
02. Dragon Mountain 4:52
03. Circle of Sacrifice 3:48
04. Lux Inferni 1:18
05. Icy Tears Falling From the Sky 3:04
06. Eternal Winter of Hate 4:08
07. Crownless King of the Dismal Dark Empire 4:46
08. Dark Hymns Under the Sanguine Sky (bonus) 4:58
09. Call of the Infernal Woods 1:46
Wolftower is a one-man raw Black Metal project from
Finland, courtesy of Vyrtur (also of Chamber Wraith and
Dragon's Relic). This is the first full-length from this
project and its nine songs clock in at exactly 30
minutes. This is excellent raw, melodic, and up-tempo
Black Metal with well written songs, plenty of catchy
riffs, and expertly placed synth to add that touch of
atmosphere when needed.
A dungeon synth intro (of which several appear again the
form of interludes between songs) doesn't overstay its
welcome and quickly gives way to 'Dragon Mountain', with
pounding and primitive drumming and ice cold riffing.
Vyrtur's vocals are raw, but not without feeling and are
perfectly placed in the mix with a nice amount of
reverb. Beautifully laid synth comes in at about the 2
minute mark, before the song pummels away for the
remainder.
The album follows this format for most of the way. 'Icy
Tears Falling From the Sky' has a galloping guitar line
and some great cymbal work on the drums during the
chorus that really evokes early Bathory if they were to
add some Gehenna style keys. 'Eternal Winter of Hate'
just punishes you straight way, Judas Iscariot style,
only to give way to another great keyboard line at the
pre-chorus and a perfect tempo change into the chorus.
This is some really well done raw Black Metal, while not
necessarily original, draws inspiration from the best of
the first and second waves. I do sometimes wish Vyrtur's
vocals were a bit more decipherable, as there are some
powerful moments here that would be great to know the
words being sung. Another minor complaint is the odd
tuning of the drums. I dig the primitive sound, but
there are parts when a louder snare or cymbal could add
a bit of power to what are very well written songs. With
that being said, this is highly recommended if you're a
fan of the rawer side of black metal. These are superbly
written tracks that ebb and flow nicely, keeping you
engaged until the last tortured note.