Origin: Finland 🇫🇮
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
From out of the majestic splendor of ancient and frigid Finnish forests emerge Wooden Throne – an atmospheric black metal project realized by one Mikko Lehto (October Falls) and none other. It was in 2021, during the height of plague and at the onset of Autumn’s deathly sweep upon the Norse land that this endeavor was realized. And thus far, Wooden Throne has wasted no time with typical underground tasking. No demos, EP’s or even splits to lead up to their 2021 debut LP, “Under the Moon They Wander Until Fading Away”. No time to squander, for you see, death is certain and spiraling into a dystopian future where the philosophies of our elders carry no water is our world… Light the candles now in preparation for the soul-sacrifice to come. On August 25, Wooden Throne unveiled their sophomore offering, “Eternal Wander of the Night Sky”, via Purity-Through-Fire.
Like the whispering of great spirits echoing through the trees, this latest volume promises to awaken from within the deepest chasms of the soul a yearning; a wellspring of emotions to overspill from unbridled ecstasy to sheer agony as you’re met with each enchanting note and every guttural outcry. The atmosphere alive with elegant piano parts and alluring backing cleans that call you back to a place in time when nature and wisdom were all that mattered. Slow-burning like a solitary candle left by the window that separates the warmth of hearth from winter’s unforgiving chill. The opening titular cut sets a most somber tone that’s carried out through every second of runtime thereafter, and these melancholic passages are masterfully offset into balance by the beauty of their atmosphere, which strikes up from the imagination images of Aurora Borealis as it softly illuminates the night canopy. “The Autumnal Frost” – dreadful in its assurance of death to come, but promising of comfort and the kind of tranquility that can only come from a place like home. Deeper still and onward through the desperate night we go with the closer, “Talvikki” – an epic track that bridges the gap between Autumn’s gentle chill and Winter’s icy grip. Alone and desolate now. No promise of beginnings anew to be found; only the reality of death as you’re left with the fading out of piano before silence finally falls upon the waning hours of the eve.
A brilliant-in-its-own-charm kind of recording and a testament to musical wisdom, but also to Lehto’s deep-running understanding of the genre as a whole. Solid in its atmospheric black metal stance and no mistaking it for anything else. The album’s tempo being the great differentiator between albums like “Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky” and other ABM records like Marrasmieli’s “Martaiden Mailta” or Grima’s “Frostbitten”. Ultimately, a depressive affair fit for deep contemplation and reflection; the kind of mind-wandering that takes place during periods of great suffering, but edged by the gleam of its own atmospheric beauty. With “Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky”, Wooden Throne guide you through where dread and beauty are somehow intertwined, in danse and thriving together. Prepare to dredge the very depths of BM darkness and soar its most breathtaking heights all in a portion of the hour at hand.
8.5/10
Experience the titular track to “Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky” right here as presented by Purity-Through-Fire:
~Jeger
