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Wolfmangler is a side project of experimental folk artist D. Smolken, who is best known for his extensive work as Dead Raven Choir. Whereas the DRC explores both eerie folk soundscapes and harsh black metal, both mostly set to existing poems and songs, Wolfmangler focuses on a sound that lies somewhere in the desolate reaches between dark folk and funeral doom metal. Needless to say, this makes for quite an original sound, but also one that is rather a challenge to pull off convincingly. Nevertheless, D. Smolken succeeds in doing so.
The debut release by Wolfmangler was My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Wolves, released on Brad Rose's Foxglove records in 2004, and that one featured more of an explicit dronish doom metal sound through the use of electric guitar here and there. Not so on Dwelling in a Dead Raven..., where almost everything is acoustic. With spoken vocals, bass, drums (read: timpani), flute and a brass section, Wolfmangler manages to put down a sound that is dark, organic and so heavy that it would put many a modern doom metal band to shame.
The album starts off with "Dirge for a Viking Asshole", which is based on "Åse's Death" from the "Peer Gynt Suite" by Edvard Grieg. This song sets the tone for the rest of the album, which is dark, plodding, and overlaid with simple but engrossing melodies. Highlight of the album is "The First Elegy", which with its heavy timpani work reminds me of the more intense moments of Until Death Overtakes Me. Actually, a pretty good description of this album would be that it is an acoustic version of that particular brand of funeral doom metal. The album isn't convincing in all of its aspects, though. Here and there things get a tad too monotonous for my taste, and the vocals are too far away in the mix. As there are no lyrics presented in the booklet, it would have been nice to be better able to follow what Smolken is rambling about, as it is sure to be enhancing to the atmosphere.
So, despite some lesser points, this is a highly consistent release that will appeal to the more broadly-interested lovers of both doom metal and experimental folk. The Wolfmangler sound is a backdrop that allows for a wide range of gloomy interpretations, as can be surmised from other reviews of this album on the internet.
O.S.
The debut release by Wolfmangler was My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Wolves, released on Brad Rose's Foxglove records in 2004, and that one featured more of an explicit dronish doom metal sound through the use of electric guitar here and there. Not so on Dwelling in a Dead Raven..., where almost everything is acoustic. With spoken vocals, bass, drums (read: timpani), flute and a brass section, Wolfmangler manages to put down a sound that is dark, organic and so heavy that it would put many a modern doom metal band to shame.
The album starts off with "Dirge for a Viking Asshole", which is based on "Åse's Death" from the "Peer Gynt Suite" by Edvard Grieg. This song sets the tone for the rest of the album, which is dark, plodding, and overlaid with simple but engrossing melodies. Highlight of the album is "The First Elegy", which with its heavy timpani work reminds me of the more intense moments of Until Death Overtakes Me. Actually, a pretty good description of this album would be that it is an acoustic version of that particular brand of funeral doom metal. The album isn't convincing in all of its aspects, though. Here and there things get a tad too monotonous for my taste, and the vocals are too far away in the mix. As there are no lyrics presented in the booklet, it would have been nice to be better able to follow what Smolken is rambling about, as it is sure to be enhancing to the atmosphere.
So, despite some lesser points, this is a highly consistent release that will appeal to the more broadly-interested lovers of both doom metal and experimental folk. The Wolfmangler sound is a backdrop that allows for a wide range of gloomy interpretations, as can be surmised from other reviews of this album on the internet.
O.S.