Celestite

Wolves in the Throne Room are hardly the sort to make the same record twice, but I was interested to hear they were releasing a completely instrumental album. Expecting something more in the post-metal/post rock vein I was pleasantly surprised to discover an electronic ambient masterpiece with some drone metal elements that's really a loving homage to the golden age of 70s analogue synths. This album perfectly captures its "celestial" atmosphere, is truly enchanting, and harkens back to early Tangerine Dream albums like Zeit, Alpha Centauri and Phaedra, as well as Vangelis and perhaps Klaus Schulze. I really cannot fault it, and can't stop listening to it, I hope they continue to experiment and branch out in this new style.EDIT: Having very belatedly listened to Celestial Lineage I can now appreciate this on another level as a companion album (as it draws on the themes and melodies from the metal album) which seems to be all they intended it to be really, similar to how Burzum metal tracks resurfaced at least once in ambient electronic format. It's laughable to see so many hipster posers complaining about the fact that they dared to do an electronic album and completely missing the point. I just hope this isn't a strictly one-off release and that they experiment with electronic again with some future releases.

I've given this a good few listens now, and I keep going back to the start and listening to it all again. It reminds me in parts of Burzum's early instrumental compositions, but on an epic universal scale! There's no vocals here, which may upset some WitTR fan's, but I think this is compensated by the cosmic scope of the album. Its an inspiring/refreshing listen, and I love the idea that it is an accompanying piece/re-imaging of Celestial Lineage. If you close your eyes and lie back you truly get the sense you are drifting through the cosmos.

The Wolves go ambient. Contentious, I know, but much prefer them without the generic Black Metal vocals.

Atmospheric and ambient, a lot different to their usual music but keep an open mind, give it a few good listens and you will not be disappointed.

Very good album. Awful vinyl press, contains lots of noise.

This album perfectly captures a great atmosphere. Not Black Metal but this concept close the circle with other releases.

I liked Celestial Lineage, but it wasn't until Celestite that I really got Wolves In The Throne Room. The album wasn't heavily hyped; in fact, the band downplayed its significance by positioning it as a companion piece to the much more widely publicized Celestial Lineage. Yet, its style is a radical departure from Wolves' established sound. In fact it sounds nothing like black metal at all, and still somehow it goes straight to the heart of what Wolves were trying to convey before with all those howling vocals and crusty guitars.The album is purely instrumental, with no vocals of any kind. There are few guitars (except some growling fuzz in "Initiation At Neudeg Alm"). Rather, the music is driven by atmospheric keyboards and brass. There are only five tracks, and three of these are extremely long suites that proceed at a crawl through slow ambient passages. Part of the music does indeed sound like it came from Celestial Lineage -- the first two tracks borrow the dramatic organ from "Thuja Magus Imperium," while "Bridge Of Leaves" clearly quotes the main melody from "Woodland Cathedral." But they are quoting themselves, not plagiarizing. All the surrounding chaos from Celestial Lineage has been completely ripped out, and the remaining elements are completely reinterpreted by their new environment. The production is dark and rich, the synths sound "weathered" and natural, which at times makes this feel more like orchestral music than an electronic album.I should say that, although this album can be and has been described as "droning" and "minimalist," these words do not properly explain how the music is arranged. It is slow, but not repetitive. The long tracks are compositions, and each has a clear beginning, middle, and ending, which are all quite different from each other. The best example is "Celestite Mirror," the longest track (at 14 minutes) and probably the intended centerpiece. It has several distinct movements. First is the beginning, which starts very gently, like exhaling after the rise at the end of "Bridge Of Leaves." The first couple of minutes are very still, with a deep murmur from the bass and long, muffled echoes and sweeps. Around 3:00 the tone changes; after some echoing chords there is a build-up of anxiety, which suddenly at 5:00 breaks into the cleanest and prettiest melodic passage on the whole album. The next four minutes are gentler and maintain an air of expectation, like waiting for something to happen and not knowing how to feel about it. After 9:00 the storm clouds come back and the music takes on a tone of dark suggestion, which, however, still alternates with the warmer tones from the previous section. There is no clear resolution: the track winds between these two directions and then sort of sighs to an end.This is very impressive, but the final track "Sleeping Golden Storm" might be the album's true masterpiece. It starts with a feeling of near-absolute stillness; the opening chords barely move forward. There is something majestic about this beginning. To me it evokes the Pacific Northwest forests that inspire Wolves' version of nature-worship. Imagine the very early dawn, where the first rays of light gradually illuminate the dense treetops. Looking at this ancient, regal giant makes one hold one's breath and speak softly. Then, around 3:00, a repeating synth melody suddenly rises from the depths. This part sounds like Popol Vuh's score to Aguirre: The Wrath of God, except the loop is half-sunk in the background. It is like a recurring flicker of consciousness, as if the giant forest is turning in its sleep. The rest of the track gradually increases the dramatic tension, hinting at immense power, the possible "storm" in the title.Over time, black metal has accumulated its own set of standard tropes, but as this album demonstrates, this genre has also become a place of refuge for artists who wish to defiantly embrace images of nature and pursue forms of composition that, unexpectedly, are almost classical (see also: Agalloch). Celestite embodies that vision even better than Celestial Lineage, even though from a formal standpoint it isn't even a metal album. It is a very original work. The world depicted here is very different from what you might find in most other contemporary music. Celestial LineageWolves In The Throne RoomscoreAguirre: The Wrath of GodAgalloch

Take the guitars and drums out of the band, leave the atmosphere, and you have an Interesting, new facet to enjoy.Of course there so be one and two star reviews for this, haha; Some people have trouble expecting the (sometimes vastly) unexpected, and that will be what it'll be. It happens across all genres. A musician experiments and it short-circuits brains.The music itself is a joy to relax to; Makes for meditative writing inspiration as well, I've discovered. I got a kick out of the synth is one song -- Sounds nicely similar to the sound in the "Stranger Things" theme, Not in melody but tone.

Not their usual style, but very solid material!

Beautiful.

Great album

absolutely love this! If you like this then you should try Vinterriket and early Mortiis. Put this one on when going to bed and dream.

While decent in its own respect, this is not the WITTR that you will be familiar with, or probably want. It is entirely consistent of ambient electronic music, with zero black metal included at all. I congratulate WITTR for creating the music they want to make, but in the future I will definitely sample the album before buying. I really hope this is just a passing phase for them.