The Thurible Reviews: Show Me Wolves - "The World They Took Over"

If black metal has a weakness, it's a general lack of dynamism. Apart from more experimental acts like Deathspell Omega, most black metal songs revolve around a few menacing riffs repeated over a standard driving drum beat. It's a great formula for creating the haunting atmospheres that black metal fans love, but it doesn't make the listener involuntarily bob their head in the way death, or doom, or nearly every other kind metal does.

Iceland's Show Me Wolves aren't quite black metal. I don't mean that in a disparaging way; they're not "not quite black metal" in the same way that Cradle of Filth are not quite black metal. Rather, Show Me Wolves straddles the line between progressive black metal and metalcore so effectively that to describe the band as either/or would feel dishonest. This Icelandic solo project of Hörður Lúðvíksson delivers the frosty riffs and blast beats fans of black metal expect, but mixes them with the punk energy and big melodies of modern metalcore for a listen that's more accessible than most black metal and grimmer than most metalcore.

The World They Took Over is packed full of thick, fuzzy riffs. Even more conservative tracks like "Exit The Realm Of The Living" deliver meaty guitar and bass work, but it's the head-bobbing chugs on tracks like "Transparent Figures" and "Mother" that set Show Me Wolves apart—this band knows how to write a powerful riff. Lúðvíksson also incorporates metalcore and death metal drum fills into traditional black metal drumming throughout the album, restoring some of the genre's lost punk aggression. Occasionally, as on "Downfall" he even throws in a double bass-infused breakdown.

Some will probably dismiss The World They Took Over as Baby's First Black Metal Album. They've completely missed the point. The end goal of all heavy music is not to make more Darkthrone fans. Show Me Wolves is not a gateway drug to heavier, kvlter black metal—it's a solid crossover act in the vein of Nachtmystium (or, more recently, Panopticon), cobbling together the best bits from progressive black metal, death metal, and metalcore for a record that appeals to fans of all three. If you're craving black metal you can jog to or metalcore that reminds you of bleak northern mountains instead of sweaty mosh pits, Show Me Wolves is well worth the listen.

Recommended.