Vritrahn Werwolf – Vritrahn-Werwolf

Vritrahn Werwolf

Vritrahn Werwolf

by Will Travers at 04 July 2021, 5:52 PM

Black Metal that focuses on satanism, darkness AND blasphemy, oh and it originates out of Finland? Well, it would appear that the Black Metal washing machine has churned out another band that simply fits the mould on paper, but how do they hold up musically? Well, VRITRAHN WERWOLF have a back catalogue of demos, EPs and a compilation album from the last seven years, with May’s self-titled release being their debut full length release. I’ll be honest, when I saw the artwork, I was slightly taken aback. IT. IS. WILD. The overlayered explosion, the tank and those armbands! I am simply hoping that the jovial and fun image I am getting from this simple cover transcends into the music and it delivers a fun, and enjoyable experience.

Opening is “End Of The Ages” and instantly, I can hold my hands up and say that I was wrong. The music is certainly not stereotypical to the genre. It is more, for lack of a better term, cosmic. It’s heavy but also light and ethereal at the same time. The contrasting pitches of the vocal trackings really complement one another and the track seems to flow pretty effortlessly. But the relaxing journey meandering through the album doesn’t last long. “Silver Aurora” bursts to life with relentless blast beats and an absolutely breathless pace that injects some energy and passion into the music.

“Lord Of All Evil” seems to be somewhat of a hybrid, with a fairly nondescript origin, it explodes into a flurry of frantic instrumental tracking, whilst also having the capacity to strip back to the bones and just show what it is they are made of, and so far? Well, I’m impressed. I have two other tracks that I want to kind of hone in on, as I feel they will go hand in hand with one another. The first being “Blasphemous Metal”, and I’d like to take a little bit of time to think what is blasphemous metal. Is it VENOM with their infamous “Black Metal” album, or perhaps the imagery of IRON MAIDEN? Could it be the legal battle that united Heavy Metal with Dee Snider’s speech in court? Or finally, Nergal’s current issues in Poland. If there is something that is inevitable in Metal, it’s that there will always be a level of blasphemy in its lyrical content, imagery and the uneducated views of bigots towards our communities. As for the track, well it has a real old school Gothic feel, mixed with some of the more recent stylings of the likes of BEHEMOTH and honestly, it has to be my track of the album. The second track I wanted to look at is, you guessed it, “Crucifucked (S.S.)”, blasphemous? YES, and I love it. It is by far the heaviest and most intense track of the record and that is evident in the opening 15 seconds. Deep dense riffs permeate through my speakers, ungodly and unnerving vocals pierce through the impenetrable wall of distortion. I tell you what? Go for a run, after 10 minutes of warming up or so, stick this track on, set the volume to 11 and you can thank me later.

Overall, this is a solid debut for the duo. With some fine examples of variance in their style of play as well as some promising tacks that display the skills of Vritrahn and Werwolf. A bit more time, some development and finesse and I could see VRITRAHN WERWOLF becoming quite the storm on the European Black Metal circuit.



Songwriting: 9
Originality: 9
Memorability: 8
Production: 6