1349 takes its throne back with The Wolf and The King.
Led from the outset by Seidemann (bass, Mortem, Svart Lotus) and Ravn (vocals), soon joined by Archaon (guitar, ex-Funeral) then Frost (drums, Satyricon, Ulvehunger, ex-Gorgoroth…), the Norwegian band released their eighth album on Season of Mist in 2024.
The God Devourer immediately plunges us back into Aural Hellfire, the name the band uses to describe their art, using assertive, dark Old School roots to accompany Ravn‘s macabre growls. The sturdy, icy rhythmic pattern ignites for the solo, only to grow heavier again before Ash of Ages imposes its dissonance, which transforms into a more martial approach during the choruses, blending the two worlds to create a captivating veil of darkness. Shadow Point offers a semblance of calm, but this is quickly annihilated by Frost‘s drums, followed by his equally aggressive bandmates, to sow chaos with waves of fury. The chaotic guitar leads into the equally hellish Inferior Pathways, where the band remain anchored in their fury, which is expressed in the rawest, almost permanent fashion, before the ominous bass kicks in on Inner Portal, the next composition. The sound once again draws us in with its cold, merciless atmosphere, where the mysteries of Black Metal are rampant, whether at full power or with this ritualistic passage before a new conflagration that finally gives rise to the devastating The Vessel and The Storm. The oppressive, jerky sound turns into a full-blown surge during the lead parts, and the band’s boundless violence leads into the intense Obscura, where darkness guides the musicians at full speed. The few more moderate passages are governed by hazy, occult sounds, but the track is relatively short, leaving Fatalist and its mystical introduction to accompany us on the album’s final moments, which cannot deprive us of these bursts of violence, but which also reserves some surprising harmonics for us.
1349‘s Aural Hellfire reaches its peak with The Wolf and The King. The album is capable of displaying both the utmost violence and chilling occult moments, and this contrast is more than effective.
90/100