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Ever sit and watch footage of all those nutters on New Years Day that feel the urge to go for a dip in sub-zero temperatures, wearing nothing but a pair of budgie smugglers? Muppets, the lot of them! Why dip your jigglies in the sea when you could sit back in the warmth of your own home and crank up some Watain? It would have the same effect, and you would look less of a nonce. The same sharp intake of breath as you take the plunge and press play. The same rush of adrenaline as opening track ‘Nuclear Alchemy’ wastes no time in getting to the point, and the same feeling of taking a severe blow to the solar plexus. Make no mistake, titans of Swedish black metal, Watain, are in no mood to dick about. This is short and sharp; eight tracks running just over thirty minutes or so. Who knows, maybe the fuss that the change of style on previous album ‘The Wild Hunt’ brought has fuelled the anger on ‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’? Detractors missed the point that Watain took a risk, and risks should be applauded. C’mon, ‘They Rode On’ is a masterpiece, no matter what way you look at it, but fear not, as Watain go for the throat from the opening ferocity of ‘Nuclear Alchemy’ and don’t let up until ‘The Fire Of Power’ grinds to a halt a little while later. Drummer Hakan Jonsson is the member who should rightly take all the plaudits. The man is a beast behind the kit, the pummelling bass drum offering no quarter as it slams the listener against the wall time after time. I would love to see a band play-through video of ‘Nuclear Alchemy’ just to watch him in action. Track two, ‘Sacred Damnation’, is a perfect example of a band mixing it up, going through multiple tempo changes as they continue to take no prisoners. The mid-section ever-so briefly strays into prog-metal territory, but it is the briefest of sojourns, as Jonsson soon brings the band back in with his relentless drumming. The track is a stunning, atmospheric two fingers at anyone who dares suggest the genre is repetitive. ‘Furor Diabolicus’ continues with the all out assault, complete with galloping guitars mid-song, and if you were to turn down Erik Danielsson’s vocals, you would be left with a great mix of black metal and modern day Judas Priest. Everything that comes before ‘Towards The Sanctuary’ merely hints at what’s lurking around the corner. Christ, it is powerful stuff. Jonsson is a machine… he’s the T-1000 (all new improved version), he’s Dolph Lundgren in Universal Soldier, he will not stop until everyone is lying in a heap around him, a one man battering ram. I enjoyed ‘The Wild Hunt’, so I’m not going to call ‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ a return to form. Check it out yourself, you won’t be disappointed. Available now through Century Media. Review: Oli ]]>
