Review by dk for Wolvserpent - Perigaea Antahkarana (2013)

Way back in 2007 or so (damn, that’s nearly 20 years ago), I was lurking on a doom metal forum associated with Southern Lord: mainly for discussions and announcements for new albums. There were a number of musicians on that site who discussed their new projects. One such person was Blake Green who announced his first release as a duo with Brittany McConnel under the name of Pussygutt – a doom-laden drone metal band. In 2010, the multi-instrumentalist duo changed their name to Wolvserpent, Perigaea Antahkarana is their second full-length album.

Bookended with nature recordings of wind, a fire crackling and cawing crows, this is no one-paced drone metal release. Yes, we have big repetitive droning guitar riffs, pounding drums and synth and droning violin layers. But we also have: massive doom/stoner riffs, post-rock style ethereal violin build ups akin to Godspeed You! Black Emperor leading into an atmospheric back metal sound; guttural funeral doom style vocals from Blake and ethereal dark folk style chanting from Brittany. Layers of sound that provide a truly immersive experience. I’m no musician, but I would imagine pulling together diverse influences into a truly cohesive work is no easy task, but the duo do this seamlessly.

I see lots of reviews describing the sound as dark and its association with winter, but to me this is both lush and bleak, light and dark, and this was the perfect album for this glorious summers day.

A drone metal album? I guess, but this contains a whole lot more. Wonderful