When Wolvhammer's debut LP Black Marketeers Of World War III arrived in 2010, it was just one of a slew of albums by bands who were blurring the lines between black, death and doom metal in new and exciting ways. Alongside Coffinworm's When All Became None and Dragged Into Sunlight's Hatred For Mankind, it felt like something new and exciting was happening.
Since then, dozens more genre-blending degenerates have sprung up from all corners of the globe, and while nothing has thrilled me quite as much as those initial releases, it's been a fertile time for those who like their metal to defy easy classification. Chicago's Wolvhammer have undergone extensive transformations in both lineup and sound, with all founding members except drummer Heath Rave having left after the release of BMOWW3, and sophomore release The Obsidian Plains dispensing with much of what set their debut apart in favour of furthering the black metal elements of their sound. On their third full-length Clawing Into Black Sun, Wolvhammer fully enshroud themselves in darkness.
Ominous opener 'The Silver Key' begins with some shimmering guitar work from Jeff Wilson, evoking a far colder atmosphere than the aggressive swagger of their previous releases. Alternating between backbeat and blastbeats, Rave's drumming drives the song, while still giving Wilson and vocalist Adam Clemens plenty of space to snarl and howl. At over eight minutes long, it slightly outstays its welcome, the solid ideas stretched almost to breaking point across the running time.
'Lethe' provides a short ambient interlude before they really hit their stride with 'Death Division', the sort of blackened banger that they made their trademark on that debut record. Clemens' feral voice is either multi-tracked here, or they managed to get the most fucking terrifying gang vocalists ever heard. Previously heard in demo form on their recent split with USBM powerhouse Krieg, 'Slaves To The Grime' ploughs much the same field, but seeing as the soil is slick with the effluence of rotten corpses and thawing ice, they can till away as far as I'm concerned.
'The Desanctification' stomps along furiously until unleashing a blast of unadulterated black metal in the third act, the vocals sounding legitimately hateful throughout, while following track 'In Reverance' features plenty of that punk snarl they do so well. Penultimate track 'A Light that Doesn't Yield' has shades of goth/death rock in the intro, yet soon becomes a slow-burning anthem not all too dissimilar to the likes of Fall Of Efrafa. While I can appreciate what they were going for, unfortunately they never quite get there, as the track builds and builds to a climax that never arrives, instead underwhelmingly fizzling out at the end.
However the album's title track is appropriately badass, a bombastic marching beat from Rave paving the way for a winding, serpentine riff courtesy of Wilson. The flirtation with clean vocals is all but buried in the mix, Clemens sounding far more confident expelling ragged rasps than his timid singing voice. That it's the best track on the album is kind of a bummer, as it only serves to leave me eager for more of it's ilk.
With moments of true brilliance throughout, Wolvhammer have retained enough of their own identity, whilst adding new shades of black to their extensive palette.
