Review by Emma on May 29, 2011.

Ashen haze over a somber city. The weather moves between rain and a delicate mist, the sun never quite in view as the buildings, sharp grey angles, are in the way. The hours are unending, the relief of tomorrow just out of reach. Such is the picture of Blackwolfgoat’s "Dronolith" an album that glides between (surprise) Drone and Instrumental Rock.

At first glance, this album would appear to be a rip on Sunn0))) due to the title, and their influence on Blackwolfgoat is heard, but it falls into the instrumental/post/whatever rock category more and manages to find a voice different from O’Malley’s. Opening track ‘Ruane’ is a delicate staccato dance, creating lacey textures with the lo-fi recording and providing interesting contrast to the drone found later in "Dronolith". The influence of Red Sparrows and Earth can be heard throughout the album, making this an ideal pick for fans of said bands.

Overall a good album that wasn’t difficult to finish, highlights being ‘Ruane’ and ‘Event Radius’. "Dronolith" isn’t treading on new territory, but it is taking the best route and ends up being a good choice for fans of Godspeed You Black Emperor, Sunn0))), The Gersch or Russian Circles.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Denis on July 14, 2003.

From the ashes of Betrayal and Azazel was born Nail Within. From the first band came Yishai Swearts (vocals) and the second one gathered once more Alex Schuster (guitars), Evil Haim (bass) and Miko (drums) who was eventually replaced by Salem's Nir Nakav . Recorded at 'Spiderhouse Studio' in Germany and produced by Harris Johns and Zeev Tananboim (Salem) this debut effort is offering some guest appearances by Mille Petrozza, Thomas Lindberg, Robert Gonella respectively from Kreator, At the Gates and Assassin. The band was completed by a second guitar player named Matan Cohen from Betzefer.

What runs through these 11, mostly short ( 2-3 minutes ) compositions, is a well executed type of metal that is rather technical but also raw and straightforward. The back cover calls it a trash assault. Even if they are quite thrilling and energetic, I found some compositions to be a bit similar and the lead vocals (death / scream) are kind of an acquired taste - still this album does have songs with a little something that makes them more interesting to my ears. 'Inhuman Conditions' has a pleasant slower / doom segment with great guitar work and solo. I like the vocals better on this one. Another good number is 'Under the Spell' for its clean and calm intro and theatrical voices here and there. The heaviest compositions are excellent too just like 'Elastic,' 'King Obscenity' and 'Last Nail.' I mean all the songs are heavy but these three stand out for sounding heavier. 'King Obscenity' starts actually with clean guitar but alternates with the heavy mode and at one point you can hear clean vocals too. This one and 'My Wallow' are both my preferred tracks on this record. The last one is the song with more variety in its structure, thus being more on the progressive side of Nail Within.

Bottom Line: The back cover says it all: "Nail Within want to share their raw, live sounding straightforward trash assault with you."

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 6.5
Originality: 6.5
Production: 8.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.4 out of 10