ALBUM REVIEW: Watain - "Trident Wolf Eclipse"

By:  Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 05/01/2018

Label: Century Media Records

Trident Wolf Eclipse’ is an album that’s both diverse, but also does a better job of staying within the band’s established wheelhouse.  The album’s opening track is a perfect statement of intent: “Nuclear Alchemy” is the sort of thrashy, high-energy hellstorm that sets the stage for the rest of the album

‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Nuclear Alchemy

2. Sacred Damnation

3. Teufelsreich

4. Furor Diabolicus

5. A Throne Below

6. Ultra (Pandemoniac)

7. Towards The Sanctuary

8. The Fire of Power

9.Antikrists Mirakel

The Review:

There’s course correction, and then there’s course correction. 2013’s ‘Wild Hunt’ was regarded as something of a misstep by a sizable portion of the band’s fan base. You could make an argument that this was either a fan base’s knee-jerk reaction to any kind of experimentation at all or reasonable reaction with the new direction being seen as a real downgrade. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, ‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ is an equal and opposite reaction; returning to, and building from, the sound they were working with on ‘Lawless Darkness’.

In that sense, the album’s opening track is a perfect statement of intent: “Nuclear Alchemy” is the sort of thrashy, high-energy hellstorm that sets the stage for the rest of the album, while also being an incredible addition to Watain’slive arsenal. It’s three minutes that runs the entire Wataingamut, from 90s Swedish black metal to black thrash and with a remarkable knack for hooks and arrangement.

The rest of the album covers a number of other bases as well. “Teufelsreich” alternates between an homage to the middle section of Mayhem’s “Cursed in Eternity” and low-tempo Dissection. “A Throne Below” focuses on a more grim, atmospheric darkness. And album closer “Antikrists Mirakel” is an entrancing way to end the album, even with its near-funeral doom tempo. All of this is to say that the album is—as contradictory as this sounds—all over the place in a cohesive way.

‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ is an album that’s both diverse, but also does a better job of staying within the band’s established wheelhouse. Those who were dreading the possibility of further experimentation will be relieved by this return to safer ground. Those who enjoyed the band exploring new musical terrain will still find a lot of variety to enjoy, though you won’t find anything as adventurous as what was found on ‘Wild Hunt’. In a sense, this is Watain playing it safe, but the songwriting more than compensates for any perceived lack of forward momentum. There are times when a band wants to branch out and try something new and discovers it just wasn’t what they’d hoped for, and that appears to be what Watainhas discovered over the last few years.

‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ is available here



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