#wolflaut

Wölflaut Bears Dark Tales From The Hallowed Halls

~By Billy Goate~

I have a new game to play. A game to test your strength...

So begins the new album 'Waiting for Ragnarök' (2017) by Portland doom threesome WOLFLAUT.   BJ McDonald (guitar, vocals), Thäedra Clare (bass, vocals), and Matt Ammot (drums) have been staples of the Rose City underground for as long as I have been covering it, and longer still.   You may have met them on our Doomed & Stoned in Portland compilations.   If not, their new record will serve as a fitting introduction.

Wölflaut's first release, 'Leveled' (2015) garnered some measure of attention, especially among fans of science fiction and fantasy-themed doom (Planet of the Apes aficionados take note!).   However, I have to say their new effort has significantly raised the stakes for Wölflaut. Waiting for Ragnarök is comprised of four tasty, down-tuned, tranced-out numbers that fans of the Electric Wizard school of doom will take an immediately liking to.

Painting by Doug Otani

Matt Ammot tells me that Waiting For Ragnarok came together "while the three of us blasted out heavy fuzz in a rickety garage during a brutal winter that hit the Northwest."   Sounds like an ideal scenario for music making!   "While the snow fell and kept us in," he continues, "we played tribute to the frigid past of Norse Mythology and the vast coldness of space and time, as the burning of wood and herb reminded us that soon the heat will come and bring the thaw."

The three-dimensional quality of the record's sound really helps to advance the plot.   Waiting For Ragnarok was captured by Justin Phelps at The Hallowed Halls in Portland, who really picked up on the band's vision here.   The subsequent mixing took place at Trakworx Studio in San Francisco, at the hands of Justin Weis.

Now, follow along as Doomed & Stoned gives you an exclusive track-by-track walk through of the just-released EP, courtesy of Wölflaut's Thäedra Clare.

Fenrir

Waiting for Ragnarök vol.1 by Wölflaut

Album opener, "Fenrir," is about a Norse myth, the tale of Fenrir and Tyr.   "As the story goes Fenrir was the son of Loki," Thäedra recounts, "and as he grew at a monstrous rate Odin and the other gods foresaw a prophecy that Fenrir would end up bring about the End of Days, or Ragnarök.   So they devised a plan to bind him in chains, by tricking him and telling him they were playing a game to see how strong he was. But Fenrir was so strong he broke loose every time.   Finally, a magic cord was formed that would surely restrain him forever, but by then Fenrir had grown distrustful, so he only agreed to be bound by the cord if Tyr would agree to place his hand in his mouth as a gesture of good faith.   Tyr agreed and once Fenrir was tied up with the cord he quickly realized he had been tricked and snapped Tyr's hand off clean with his jaws.   Tyr ended up sacrificing part of himself to save the Universe, and Fenrir remained bound forever."

Ok, I'm hooked.

BJ's vocal approach here and throughout is less singing and more declamatory in style.   I imagine him standing at the top of the island center of Crater Lake in the dead quiet of the moonlit winter night, reciting the bone-chilling tales of the Ancient Ones.

Hound of hell The plot to kill Must be bound Must be bound From Odin's eyes You can't hide The hand of Tyr Your only prize

Thäedra's backing vocals are stirred in the mix quite effectively, adding a ghostly aura to each verse.  Later on in the record, we'll get to hear her in the lead.

Parallel

Waiting for Ragnarök vol.1 by Wölflaut

The second track is "a sci-fi tale about a group of scientists aboard a spacecraft who are fleeing the planet which has become uninhabitable after centuries of the people destroying the environment.   Their only hope is to chart a course through a black hole in the hopes of reaching a parallel universe.   As they complete their journey after traveling successfully through the black hole they finally reach their new home, a planet called... EARTH."

Heatbringer

Waiting for Ragnarök vol.1 by Wölflaut

On third base is "Heatbringer," a song "about two strangers each traveling their own way, when they encounter each other and realize that the other has something that they need."   After slight hesitation, Thäedra adds with a smile, "It's about weed, actually.   What more can we say?"

Mecca Shiva

Waiting for Ragnarök vol.1 by Wölflaut

The final song "explores the darkest recesses of space and the Universe, and the mysteries that may lie beyond our knowledge."   Thäedra gives a "hat tip to The Venture Bros. for naming our imaginary Dark Space Goddess."

Waiting for Ragnarök provides a fresh spin on familiar doom riffs and rhythms by elevating the tradition of storytelling.   All in all, Wölflaut's new collection of tales is quite easy to get lost in.   Perhaps you'll find yourself listening to them in rotation endlessly, as I did over the past 24 hours.

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.