...

The role of atmosphere in black metal cannot be understated, nor can it be overstated. It simply exists -- to varying extents, of course -- as a primal, substantial element of the music itself. It's not necessarily some almighty or virtuosic duty to undertake the purposeful maximization of atmosphere for whatever purpose. Think of it as more of a stylistic choice, impartial in its doing. To that end, we have the tag "atmospheric black metal" (which seems redundant, right?) -- obviously, we're pointing out black metal in which atmosphere benefits from enhanced credence and attention. When you so greatly amplify a certain focus, though, you can sometimes drown out other considerations, to your own detriment. Writing music for public consumption this presents a certain level of risk which must be carefully navigated.

Wilt, an atmospheric black metal quintuplet from Canada, take to the icy waters with their upcoming sophomore full-length Ruin -- with vocalist Jordan Dorge launching harrowing howls into the night, the band uses echolocation to find its way. Whatever the case, it's pure atmosphere into which they head, a sonic horizon of choruses, sharp climaxes, and colorful intensities. Check out an exclusive stream of Ruin's opening track "Into the Unknown" below, a journey of a song which starts off somber (and doomy) only to explode toward more energized headspaces.

...

...

As evidenced early on, Dorge's vocals play a vital role on Ruin. With tastefully heavy effects usage not masking any of their shrieking power, he successfully weaves the morose, slower-paced introduction to the blast beat-saturated midsection. The music, however, doesn't "serve" as simply a vehicle for his voice; rather, it stands alone as both meditative and invigorating, a tough balance to nail. Wilt do keep their technicality reigned in -- think "simple," clean and uncluttered but not dumbed-down -- helping your mind detach slightly from concrete notes and tune into more abstract waveforms. Luckily, the remainder of Ruin is just as impassioned and well-steered as "Into the Unknown," guiding you through its stimulated moods until the final, most climactic moments.

...

Ruin will be released on May 18th via Vendetta Records. Stream the album's fourth track "A Summons Has Come" via Bandcamp here.

...

A statement from Dorge:

We are extremely excited to bring you another track from our new album. Ruin has been a soul crushing yet therapeutic journey and we are really excited to share another taste. This track serves as a great intro for the album and really sets the tone for the journey to come. This song is as mentioned the intro track to our concept album and it essentially starts the journey, the subject is wandering with no destination in mind. Severing all ties that he had essentially, due to something he had done that can't be forgiven. He is venturing into the unknown. Unknown the fate, unknown the destination. Everything unknown. In this journey he finds himself flung into a situation that leads him battered, bruised and lost. He wakes up in death's realm, the journey took his life due to a careless accident and being far too in his own head while traveling. It's a great introduction to the album because it sets the pace and tone of what's to come. Ultimate doom. This song was one of the first songs we wrote for the album and it really steered the album in the direction we wanted.

...

...