Review by Jeger on November 5, 2024.

If there was ever a near-perfect vision of what mainstream black metal should look and sound like, it would be Norway’s 1349 - a project realized with the creation of world-class music and genre dynamics in mind as opposed to heritage and culture. True black metal? That’s a slippery slope, as I’m of the mind that no true black metal project should venture where mainstream labels dare unless you’re Watain who are the only real exception in my book. But we’re not gathered here today to argue the legitimacy of 1349, only their talents and the listenability of their forthcoming LP, The Wolf & The King, October 4, 2024, release through Season Of Mist.

Torches, bonfires, and war paint to accompany some of Norway’s very best thrash-inspired black metal outside of the likes of Gorgoroth, Svarttjern, and Tsjuder is what you’ll find here, but not quite as intense as the output of 1349 past, a little more mid-tempo, something savory to help you digest all of this album’s many other flavors, from its many unpredictable time changes to its subtle melodic intricacies. 1349 have always been notorious for the momentum of their music, the velocity, and the speed, but as you take in the opening track, 'The God Devourer', and its follower, 'Ash Of Ages', it will be to a sense of delightful bewilderment, the sort of variety and the kind of texture that’s always been missing from this band’s recipe. Look who decided to do some fancy composing! Epic like Immortal yet as vicious and undeniably aggressive as only 1349 can be.

I’ve never been particularly impressed with Frost’s drumming and his contribution to The Wolf & The King is no exception, but I will say that at this tempo, his talents are a lot more apparent, as he’s afforded the opportunity to usher in each passage with more imagination: solid martial rhythms, some flamboyant cymbal work and a myriad of tom-rolling techniques to set the foundation for riffing patterns both concrete and elaborate in 'Inferior Pathways' - more of a classic 1349 earth-scorcher when compared to the gravity of 'Inner Portal' where the band continues on their newfound journey down accessibility’s path.

Fans of Taake or Gehenna should run like hell because this is black metal for the inferno and for death. Nothing warm or traditional, only cold steel a-glint by the light of the bonfire’s blaze and seething hatred to fuel the madness. 'The Vessel And The Storm' - another little something for the 1349 diehard - all that aforementioned momentum ensconced in all that aggression to remind you of why you started listening to this band in the first place.

Finally, something that feels like real fucking black metal. There’s an occult sense of ritualism to The Wolf & The King that’s generally missing from 1349’s music, particularly during the chilling closer, 'Fatalist', and slowing things down a bit has really opened some creative portals for this band to explore moving forward. With The Wolf & The King, 1349 take a huge leap forward as a collective into the realm of evil and it feels 100% genuine this time around. 1349 are one of the very best Norwegian black metal bands on paper and they’re finally living up to that notoriety with music that’s as wholesome as it is savage and blindingly adept. A black metal album for any and all is The Wolf And The King, not just for those who’ve become accustomed to 1349’s style like they have with the taste of Coca-Cola. The gates of Hell have swung open! New 1349 is just around the corner…

Rating: 8.5 out of 10