Album Review: 1349 - The Wolf and The King
Reviewed by Eric Clifford
I first got into 1349 around the time they released their “Hellfire” album, all the way back in the year of our lord 2005. On recent replay it remains a solid set of mephistophelian hymns, and if it doesn’t breach the gates of that vaunted category of “classic”, within which icons of the black arts such as “A Blaze in the Northern Sky” or “Blood, Fire, Death” reside, it nonetheless easily qualifies for the lesser yet still highly esteemed domain of “very good”. I’d argue much the same for their debut album “Liberation”, but beyond that I must shamefully concede my expertise to end. Until now at least. Going into their new album then, my overall impression of the band was that they’re a supremely talented group with some excellent material in their back catalogue, even if it is the case that to my knowledge they’ve yet to release anything truly essential. so. How does this new one stack up?
Very well, as it happens, but it didn’t feel that way initially. On first spin, I simply didn’t rate it. Oh, I could isolate specific aspects of the record worthy of the most emphatic praise, such as Frost’s heroic endeavours on the drum stool - his combination of eyebrow-singeing velocity and precision once more demonstrating (as if further elaboration were required) why he is so highly regarded in black metal drumming. But overall the release...simply didn’t stick. I was left unmoved, struck by a grey anhedonia that left me viewing the album as if from afar with a cold, dispassionate detachment. I didn’t dislike it either, but it felt typical, uninteresting, mired in the tropes of its genre and no more engaging than any other random black metal album might be in spite of the veteran status of it’s composers. But then something magical happened; I found myself compelled to return to the album by more than just a reviewer’s obligation, warming to its frigid charms. For me then, it’s a grower not a shower. First acquaintances be damned; this shit rips.
So much so in fact that I’m not altogether certain why it took as long as it did to “click”. Riffs that formally seemed generic now stand out as incendiary – “The Vessel and the Storm” for one example is an absolute ripper, stuffed to bursting with delectable elements from a monstrous thrash infusion at the 1.28 mark, a riotous solo, blastbeats everywhere...there is no reason why this unrepentant banger should have left me cold at first. What was it that turned me off? To where did my senses fly that I might fail to connect with the impetuous punch of “Shadow Point”, the lightspeed kick drum thundering underneath while the lead riff textures the chords coursing below it like a river of molten gold? Was it a matter of production perhaps? Nay, surely not. It threads the needle of being raw, yet with all instruments – the bass, praise Satan, included – readily legible. Could it potentially have been a singular element that failed to entice me – we likely all know of albums that we might otherwise enjoy but for, say, the nasally timbre of the vocalist, or an obnoxious tone on the drums. Might something of this sort have poisoned the experience until such time as I could sample some musical equivalent of mithridate to fortify me against it? Again, no. Ravn’s serrated bark intermingles with a maddened chant, akin to some druidic invocation. His performance is varied, stately, befitting of such a seasoned figure within the scene. Frost is Frost; as outlined previously, his performance is never less than masterly. The riffs are often intricate and technically accomplished but also measured, never sacrificing a scintilla of scathing sensibility for a crass display of wanton technicality. “Inferior Pathways” sees the band firing on all cylinders; nailing morose melody to sheer speed, with a blistering solo to boot. No; once more I fail to enunciate any rationale for my early dismissiveness.
It’s not like the album is perfect; I enjoy all the component parts of songs like “Fatalist”, but I do feel that the introduction becomes a bit repetitious, taking almost 2 minutes before the stomping pattern it begins with yields. Likewise, “Ash of Ages” could do with being a bit shorter, with the final chorus repeat overstaying it’s welcome. But even these comparative nitpicks don’t account for the ennui that afflicted me. I’d like to think I’ve a relatively expansive vocabulary. If an explanation existed, I would hope the power to conjure words equal to the task of delineating it would exist within me. Yet I remain powerless. Is there recourse left to me besides admission of defeat? I cannot account for the transmutation that my opinion on “The Wolf and the King” has undergone; alas, I throw myself to the tender mercies of the reader. Know this at least; 1349 have again reaffirmed their status in the contemporary black metal pantheon. If you are a wiser individual than I, therefore able to perceive the virtues of “the Wolf and the King” at an earlier juncture, then I urge you to indulge. If, however, you too find yourself similarly unmoved on first listen then I wholeheartedly prescribe repeat spins, and I can only hope you find more success articulating your early distaste than myself.
