Wolvhammer - Clawing Into Black Sun (Digipak CD)

WOLVHAMMER (USA) - Clawing Into Black Sun (2014) (sealed Digipak CD).  Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wolvhammer made waves back in 2011 with their Crusty Black Metal gem "The Obsidian Plains," cementing them as rising shadows in the scattered-by-geography but increasingly lethal United States Black Metal scene.

Wolvhammer have achieved a balance and a sound which is truly pissed off and more insidious than rusted metal shards dragged across flesh. Where the middle of the album plateaus a bit, the latter half drills into your brain cavity with the excellent "Death Division" and "A Light That Doesn't Yield." The former's War Metal bravado speaks of something God Dethroned might churn out, while the latter crawls out of the speakers, flowing like congealing blood with a slow heaviness and riffs made of molten rock.

Halfway through it becomes much more plaintive, yet no less engaging. Not content to leave us with such peaceful sounds, the vocals build up once again as the lead guitar follows the riffs in dreamlike progression. The song's conclusion is a towering majesty of sound, showing Wolvhammer is far more than the Crust and battery they do so well.

Clawing Into Black Sun is another flagstone in the growing wall of terror being erected by American Black Metal bands. Wolvhammer has arrived, and they're filthy and pissed off.  You should let them in.  **originally published on metalinjection.net**  Profound Lore Records ‎– PFL 138