2018 sees Sweden's Watain in an awkward position. Their lukewarm previous release, 2013's The Wild Hunt, debuted to head-scratching confusion due to some artistic choices that fell flat; namely, the bizarre decision to include an 80s power ballad, some Avenged Sevenfold-lite songs, and the band's signature dedication to the aesthetic earning them the somewhat disparaging moniker of 'black metal Rob Zombie' in more kvlt circles. The black metal faithful, ever mercurial, immediately turned their backs on the group, who, indeed, went on to carry the torch (metaphorically and literally, for anyone who's seen their live shows) as one of the most recognizable acts in black metal for most of the five-year interim. Watain toured with Mayhem twice, cementing their place as a heavyweight in the scene, even as the hype and controversy around The Wild Hunt slowly evaporated.
Five years later, it was with no undue amount of trepidation that I placed the needle on the band's newest offering Trident Wolf Eclipse. Forerunning single 'Nuclear Alchemy' was promising, delivering the signature blistering style of Watain's strongest modern material with none of the theatric silliness that had made prior outings fall flat, but ultimately, Trident Wolf Eclipse transcends the carnival goofiness of the Wild Hunt and, five days into the new year, stands unopposed as the year's finest black metal outing so far.
Black metal, for all of its fixation on isolation, is inherently an incredibly theatrical genre. Its signature subject matter - unspeakable rituals, the depths of self-loathing, crystalline, hivernal forests - are all presented with a flair for the dramatic, and always have been since the days of Bathory and Celtic Frost (This is heavy metal, after all!).
But this, in turn, begs the question - how much melodrama is too much?
Big-name Swedish black metal, for some reason, always seems to have an issue nailing what I'm going to call 'tasteful aesthetics', and has a tendency to embrace the already-over-the-top black metal aesthetic so profoundly that the music loses all sense of legitimacy and becomes just silly to watch. Watain, with their pig's-blood-drenched live show resplendent with candelabras and skulls, have always been notable for taking this to a new extreme, but this aesthetic choice, more often than not, crept into their music over the years, to mixed results.
In this regard, Trident Wolf Eclipse sees the band reigning in their theatrics, while nevertheless unleashing nine tracks of frenetic, furious, depraved black metal. Even more laudably, Watain bring the songwriting chops they had on the Wild Hunt - undebatably the best part of eye-rollers like 'Outlaw' - to bear with a classical black metal bent. 'Furor Diabolicus', which opens with a furious riff, buttressed by an incendiary guitar lead and vocalist Erik Danielsson's signature roar, is a perfect example of this, and flows between sections effortlessly, even throwing in a quick solo for good measure. 'Towards the Sanctuary', some three tracks later, features some of the tightest Watain guitar playing this side of Casus Luciferi, and immediately sees the crushing guitar enter a frenzied back-and-forth with Danielsson's eerie whispers. Watain balances these frenzied, riff-led tracks with several eerie, atmospheric outings, such as 'the Fire of Power' and 'A Throne Below', which eschew the fire-and-brimstone of the former for more nebulous, yawning textures.
In a sense, this is the band's return-to-form. Trident Wolf Eclipse has Watain return to their roots, to great success, and is a worthwhile listen for anyone who enjoys excellent songwriting and unrestrained fury in their black metal.
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