In the Woods... - HEart of the Ages

In the Woods… Heart of the Ages . 1995. 4.5 stars.

Heart of the Ages was a landmark release back in 95 that helped expand the scope of Norwegian black metal. Far more versatile than other groups from the period, In the Woods… took a progressive approach to their music, using ambient passages, guitar solos and interchanging vocal styles to push their sound beyond primitive blast beats and shrieking. Sounding like a cross between early Ulver and Edge of Sanity, In the Woods… transitions between operatic "clean" vocals and shrill metal howls to tell their cryptic narratives.

The tracks here are long and epic, as they should be, with extensive song structures that weave between rich textures and tempo changes. Songs like "Yearning the Seeds of a New Dimension" and "The Divinity of Wisdom" take their time to build from organic ambient dirges to expansive riffs, eventually boiling over into barrages of blackened chaos.

The only detracting element of this debut is the thin production which leaves some segments feeling flat and underdeveloped. However, the band’s ability to incorporate a diverse array of sounds, while still maintaining an organic and expansive atmosphere, makes up for any technical shortcomings. Overall, this is an important and influential release that helped set the stage for atmospheric black metal with a more experimental edge.

The Divinity of Wisdom

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