Wolvserpent – Perigaea Antahkarana
Review + Stream

Wolvserpent have been around for quite a number of years yet 2013 sees them release only their second full length effort since 2010 saw them change to Wolvserpent after their initial 2005 inception as Pussygutt. The release of their debut Blood Seed had them taking new steps into droned out, doomed landscapes of sound. Last year’s demo Perigaea was only a taste of things to come and Perigaea Antahkarana builds and learns from those initial recordings to become the monstrous and distressing sophomore album that it is today.

Perigaea Antahkarana flows from deeply felt and atmospheric sounds of nature – crows cawing and a fire crackling – laid over a melancholic and rich string sound (Brittany McConnell) that weaves itself around the increasingly claustrophobic noises and a subtle howling wind. “Threshold:Gateway” and its introductory style is a deftly constructed piece; the mystery that it evokes is dangerously sensual and it leads perfectly into the instantly heavy doom of “Within the Light of Fire” which twists and turns with a blackened soul and a sly, heady rhythm.

Blake Green’s vocal performance on “Within the Light of Fire” swirls with a dirty malice and his lower registers stink with a decaying filth. His guitar builds a tone of utter contempt around the slow, steady drum beats that McConnell works into the proceedings, giving the composition a burning essence that seeps under the skin and into the mind. The pace is upped a tad around ten minutes in and the militaristic drum beat that sways into view offsets the discordant notes that Green’s guitar spews forth. Wolvserpent layer a multitude of sounds into this section, throwing subtle synthesised lines to create an atmosphere that breathes with a unknown horror and a need for the whole thing to be over before it drives you completely insane. Of course, that would be the easy way out and Wolvserpent are not ones to take that route and as such they continually build and lurch ever closer to a total collapse into the abyss.

Brittany McConnell’s gorgeous violin tones usher in the devastatingly magical “Mirrors of Water” which is a rich, lush hark bark to the opening piece. Beautiful bird calls overlay the drones that creep in behind the strings and sweet, refreshing sounds of running water echo in the spaces in between and the next ten minutes pass in a hazy and reflective manner. Drums slowly and carefully work into the progression of the song and carry it into new dimensions of doom. A softly hidden choral-style vocal meanders through the soundscapes and Wolvserpent again push any expectation out of sight. This duo are doing things their own way and if “In Mirrors of Water” is anything to go by, then their way is dangerous and painful and full of darkness.

“A Breath in the Shade of Time” begins in a similar fashion to its predecessor but then turns onto a wholly different path by colouring its sound with black, daunting funeral doom elements. Slightly hidden and inhumanly deep vocals stake out the pitch dark before the track segues into shadowed drones of devastation and we’re at a point where an hour has passed already and Perigaea Antahkarana pushes the eighty minute mark. It’s a despairing and difficult record to experience but the pay off is very much worth the pressure.

“Concealed Among The Roots and Soil” closes Perigaea Antahkarana on a seventeen minute trip into the absolute unknown. Wolvserpent work heart breaking moments of sorrow into the deathly march of the song and Green’s vocal edges ever closer to total annihilation, hitting the lowest mark possible and leaving a trail of complete torment in its wake. The steady thrum of anxiety dances through the funereal glaze and it’s a wonder that the weight of the song has caused it to fold in on itself. Nods to earlier sounds filter through the darkness with Green’s voice carrying the occasional (and hard to describe accurately) higher inflection of intonation that was heard on “Within the Light of Fire.” The closing moments circle back to the very beginning of “Threshold:Gateway” and the unsettling sound of crows and fire ensures that Wolvserpent close the loop of Perigaea Antahkarana in an animalistic and utterly mystifying terror. Exhausting.

Perigaea Antahkarana will be released on September 17th via Relapse Records and can be ordered here.