WOLFHEART - Wolves Of Karelia (LP)

Vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release. Emerging from dusky woods, the untamed and forlorn nature of Finnish quartet Wolfheart leads them to one of the most picturesque regions of their home country, Karelia. Just as wildlife itself maintains harmony through a violent clash of the beautiful and unpredictable, Wolves of Karelia explores the previously coined genre of winter metal - smoothly connecting a traditional approach towards extreme genres (æReaperÆ) with atmospheric or acoustic details (æthe HammerÆ, æHorizon on FireÆ), crowned by the instrumental interlude, æEye of the StormÆ. With the noted complexity of their fifth album, Wolfheart master the art of sonic storytelling through eight multi-faceted stylistic eposes with a virtuosity of riffs, guitar solos, and abrupt tempo-changes. Above all, however, Wolves of Karelia attack with complex arrangements and melodically-grasped melancholy, creating a release as bewitching and intense as it is atmospherically resonant.