Age Of The Wolf - A Pilgrimage To Nowhere (Album Review)

Release Date: May 19th 2023. Record Label: Sleeping Church Records / Three Moons Records. Formats: CD/Cassette/DD

A Pilgrimage To Nowhere - Tracklisting

1.The Searing Eye

2.Thundering Epochs

3.Onward to Penumbra

4.Doomhex

5.A Multiplicity of Causalities

6.Nexus Exitium (Pyrophylaciorum) 

7.Conjuration of the Obsidian Colossus

8.The Phantom Electric

Review

Costa Rican Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal/Stoner Metal Heavyweights Age Of The Wolf return with their new album A Pilgrimage To Nowhere and the band have a heavier, progressive and more focused sound. The band have included some bone-crunching grooves with perhaps more focus on tone, sound and melody compared to their previous album.

The vocals are a mixture of clean vocals, harsh growls and even some death shrieks along the way. The music is quite intense with Age Of The Wolf playing similar sounds to bands such as Mastodon, CONAN, High On Fire and EYEHATEGOD. With regular outbursts of sonic based Psychedelic violence, the record can be extremely downright nasty when it wants to be. However, Age Of The Wolf adds some deft Psychedelic Rock/Metal touches which is perhaps down to the Post-Metal part of their overall sound. This allows the band to play more technical strands of Progressive Metal which becomes more apparent on tracks such as The Searing Eye, Thundering Epochs and Onward To Penumbra.

The production values have that classic mid to late 2000’s feel where Sludge Metal and Post-Metal scenes started to become more part of the mainstream metal scene. A Pilgrimage To Nowhere remains essentially a modern day album thanks to Age Of The Wolf’s technical ability which sees the atmosphere become more Thrash and Groove based with that haunting underground energy holding everything together.

If you’re a fan of the Mastodon era of Leviathan and Blood Mountain then this album contains that similar Progressive Sludge Metal energy but still allowing the band to do their own thing especially on the later stages of the album with great songs such as: Doomhex, A Multiplicity Of  Causalties, Conjuration of the Obsidian Colossus and The Phantom Electric.

The album becomes darker and daring in the second half where Age Of The Wolf brings a stripped back approach to the songs but still allowing themselves the time and space to fuse different elements of the Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal scenes. 

Another area where the album excels at is the “AMPLIFIER WORSHIP” or the “DISTORTED FUZZ” volume levels which brings the most exciting and heaviest parts of the album. There’s too many great parts to mention but Age Of The Wolf remains blissfully aggressive and heavy throughout the album. 

A Pilgrimage To Nowhere is the type of album that could offer Age Of The Wolf bigger and better opportunities within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal Underground Scene. They’ve released a first rate release that’s packed full of brilliant and thrilling grooves with a daring creative narrative that ultimately leaves you wanting to hear more.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mona at All Noir PR for the promo.

A Pilgrimage To Nowhere will be available to buy on CD via Sleeping Church Records and Cassette Tape from Three Moons Records. Both from May 19th 2023. 

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter | Linktree

Age Of The Wolf Release New Song and New Video For ONWARD TO PENUMBRA From Upcoming New Album A PILGRIMAGE TO NOWHERE

Hailing from Costa Rica, the Sludge/Doom/Post 2016, releasing their debut self-titled EP. It covered quite a different spectrum, focused on a more heavy metal/hard rock outfit. In 2019, with the release of their debut album “Ouroboric Trances”, they break their past through a heavier, dirtier and overall bigger sound. In May 2023, the band is set to release their sophomore album titled “A Pilgrimage to Nowhere”. 

The album is a continuation split release with TEL. The band dwells into heavier, experimental territory. Embracing a much more raw sound, the new album tells the story main character from the split. Continuing his search for purpose, Saar embarks on a journey of enlightenment and sacrifice. Trials and tribulations arrive along the path, only to find what truely matters deep within. 

“A Pilgrimage to Nowhere” will be released on CD/Digital via Sleeping Church Records and on Tape via Three Moons Records. 

You can watch the video for the blistering and brutal new single ONWARD TO PENUMBRA from the upcoming new album below:

Age Of The Wolf:

Christopher de Haan - Guitars // Vocals 

Jorge Camacho - Bass // Vocals 

Gabriel Ortiz - Drums // Vocals // Synths 

J.C. Zuñiga - Guitars // Vocals // Synths 

Links

Bandcamp : https://sleepingchurchrecords.bandcamp.com/ 

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ageofthewolf 

Shop : https://www.sleepingchurchrds.com

Thanks to All Noir PR for all of the details.

Age Of The Wolf/Tel - Vigils (Split Album Review) and Album Premiere Of VIGILS

Release Date: August 13th 2021. Record Label: Electric Talon Records. Format: CD/DD/Cassette

Vigils - Tracklisting

1.Age of the Wolf - Priestess of Cledones

2.Age of the Wolf - Slaves to the Riff

3.Tel - Punish 06:24

4.Tel - Downer

5.Tel - Salvation

Review

USA Doom Metallers Tel and Costa Rican Sludge Metallers Age Of The Wolf have teamed up for a new split release called Vigils. Recorded during the pandemic, this release sees both bands bring their different musical and creative approaches for this release. Age Of The Wolf play heaviest side of the split with aggressive and violent riff-fuelled Sludge Metal whilst Tel play Melodic Doom. 

Both bands have similar ideas and themes to each other but use different methods to get their music across. Age Of The Wolf offers two songs - Princess Of Cledones and Slaves To The Riff. 

Princess Of Cledones is 7:37 minutes of frantic and groove laden Sludge/Stoner Metal with harsh vocals throughout and superbly entertaining blast of Progressive Metal with Thrash based overtones. The song even manages to be riff-centric in places with a 70s Doom style influence being heard in the background. There are some trippy Psychedelic vibes among the harsh grooves and vocals that bring the song to a fine finish.

Second song Slaves To The Riff is 12 minutes plus of the band opening with a long drawn out “DRONE” riff that splits itself off into areas of Doom/Sludge metal with Ambient and Psychedelic textures being added along the way. It’s quite a slow moving song at first but soon finds a faster rhythm on the later stages of the song. The most interesting parts of the song is when Age Of The Wolf play straight-forward Doom/Sludge Metal and bring a Post-Doom or Post-Metal flavour to this song. Perhaps the best song I’ve heard from Age Of The Wolf to date.

Tel are next with their 3 songs- Punish, Downer and Salvation. This is Melodic Doom and Tel shows a more melodic side compared to Age Of The Wolf. 

Punish is 6 minutes plus of Tel doing their own thing with the Melodic Doom sound. Shades of Pallbearer and Mastodon can be heard in the first few moments with droning vocals coming in and out of the background. The song has a well rounded balance of Psychedelic Metal and Doom Metal passages. The excellent vocals offer an exciting adventure which Tel plays to their musical strengths.

Downer brings a subtle Stoner metal groove with this 9 minute opus. The song returns to Melodic Doom Metal territory after a few moments and the grizzled guitars bring a cool “FUZZ” attitude to the song. The vocal chants return and the song soon brings back echoes of Classic 70’s Doom Metal and the stunning piano solo at the end is really the icing on the cake. Powerful stuff from Tel. Downer lives up to its name with it’s bleak sounding passages and superb lyrics the band have written. 

The final song from Tel is Salvation. This is more of an acoustic offering with stunning guitar work married against Ambient noises and textures. The song reminds myself of A Perfect Circle towards the end with both the lyrics and vocals. Though I could be really thinking outside the box there. However, this song ends this split release on a mournful note.

Vigils is a superb split release that will  please both sets of fans with every song hitting the mark and leaving you wanting more.. Quite simply this is a must-have release 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to David at The Metallist and Electric Talon Records for the promo.

You can buy Vigils from Electric Talon Records on CD/DD/Cassette from August 13th 2021.

You can hear the entire record below thanks to Davide at The Metallist.

Age Of The Wolf Links:

Linktree | Facebook | BandCamp 

Tel Links:

Facebook | BandCamp