(c) Flatlands
Seems almost incessant The Time of the Wolf to work on new material and always produce something exciting. The trio from the Spanish capital Madrid devote themselves to purely instrumental tones between post rock and post metal, full of dense textures and surprising transitions. Their latest work wants to push the musical unity even further. “flew” relies more than ever on synthesizers to amplify the wall of sound accordingly. That works really well.
Thundering drums pave the way for the opening title track. The guitars create an oppressive, dark atmosphere, the bubbling structure suggests brute Post Black Metal … and then it’s suddenly over. It stays with a pure structure, which, however, immediately raises the tension level for the rest of the record to the highest heights. “Sihaya” goes straight on and takes all the time in the world for a cinematic masterpiece. The emotional majestic flow of majestic guitar walls repeatedly pulls down into mental abysses, the sheer explosiveness, including a break in the budget in the middle, fits perfectly into the picture.
The ending is also strong. “T’oublier” tries a proud ten minutes and seems to run into nowhere at first. Where the journey should go remains unclear for the time being. Bass and drums set in leisurely, whereby the virtuosic structure sometimes even allows slight tool parallels to be drawn. And then, out of nowhere, Le Temps Du Loup go through the roof. A lot of ballast has obviously accumulated here. Then it’s over for a moment before a whiny guitar introduces the cutting, sometimes martial second half. The Spaniards bring out the metal of their sound here, letting the track grow more and more until it’s suddenly over, the last note can’t even die away properly.
Le Temps Du Loup know how to let narrative threads come together to form ingenious post-constructs. This seems familiar to a certain extent, but shouldn’t bother you: “Leteo” is a little treat that feels like it gets nicer and better with every run. Here someone audibly understands the craft without words saying a hell of a lot. The break with established structures meets a skilful fulfillment of the expectations of the genre – to the point, rousing and not only an absolute win for post-rock and metal fans.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 01/27/2023
Available from: dunk!records / Pundonor Records
Facebook: www.facebook.com/letempsduloup
Slider-Pic (c) Flatlands
Category: Magazin, Reviews