With an opening on “Threshold Gateway” of crackling fire and the sound of wind blowing, and an interlude of an organ, Wolvserpent sets off their album, Perigaea Antahkarana, a sprawling five tracks with various ranges of black metal, drone, and doom.
“Within the Light of Fire”, almost seventeen minutes of various ranges play off. There are deep elements of sludge; the guitars are thick and heavy for most of eight minutes, these same notes droning on and on like rummaging through a brambled forest. Wolvserpent makes use of ritual style drum techniques in the middle part of the track, seemingly getting louder as “Within the Light of Fire” lurches onward.
Mercilessly heavy guitars are met with other droning guitar leads; an almost incantation-like vibe washes over. Twisted, deep vocals are tucked in the background; the noise prevails above all else, containing such a bleak atmosphere used more commonly in DSBM. As the seventeen minutes come to a close, the drone sentiments are presented at the forefront, sounding like Sunn O))) without their prototypical droning weirdness. The sound of birds and rushing water close the final moments, adding a sort of calm that juxtaposes nicely against the heaviness.
Perigaea Antahkarana is meant to be an epic and the next track is a continuation of the one before it. “In Mirrors of Water” opens with a dark folk tone; a violin plays somber notes as the noise of birds chirp in the background. The water rushes, ushering in keyboards that start building the track. In line with other USBM acts, Wolvserpent utilizes the same type of post-rock influences without ever sounding out of place or like a blatant rip-off of other acts such as Wolves in the Throne Room, with the whole element of nature-themed black metal.
That’s not to say the duo is automatically the most original band, either. There’s a lot of flighty influences going on, with various ranges of the drone metal and black metal spheres, respectively. Sure, the build up on “In Mirrors of Water” seems to go on forever; there are moments where the listener can zone out, but that seems to be the point of atmospheric black metal. It’s in those moments of zoning out that when the crescendo finally hits and there is the payoff that all the waiting and wondering what direction the band will go in comes to fruition, and the explosiveness of the payoff on this track is a sound so very mesmerizing and gorgeous.
The last track on the album, “Concealed Among the Roots and Soil” blends all of the previous elements together. With drone and doom, sprawling epic black metal and wonderfully beautiful soundscapes, Wolvserpent crafts such a haunting, bone chilling atmosphere while remaining steadfast in a post-rock element. “Concealed Among the Roots and Soil” pushes and pulls; it goes from these high up, sweeping guitar leads to down-in-the-dirt dooming riffs while mixing in throat-burning growls to create a seamless dichotomy of anguish and opulence.
Wolvserpent has succeeded in making an album that weaves together. All the tracks blend with some grace and precision, and while there are gripes as buildups take too long and the droning atmosphere thins out, Perigaea Antahkarana is an album that is monumentally huge. Monolithic riffs meeting sprawling post-rock black metal, with elements of drone create such an album that is large in length and in scope. Although the length of these tracks command such attention that it’s easy to just get lost inside of them, sometimes the experimental edge the twosome makes for muddy sounds; there’s too much going on at times to pay attention to specific things.
Overall, all of these working parts come together in such a manner that Perigaea Antahkarana feels different from all the other black metal releases, even if one can pinpoint the length of their influences. After a few play throughs, it's easy to see where the Boise, Idaho act wants to go… it's just that getting there seems to be an issue.
7.5/10
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