Wilt – Huginn (Review)

Wilt are a Canadian black metal band and this is their third album.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Wilt’s past material, (and bought the T-shirt too), so to say that I have been looking forward to Huginn is an understatement. Both 2015’s Moving Monoliths and 2018’s Ruin are exemplars of atmospheric black metal, and the new release Huginn is no exception.

Despite being touted as an album there’s only actually 25 minutes of material on Huginn, yet what the record lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. It also has stunning artwork, which is always a bonus.

The first track Cloaked in Ash builds mood gradually, unfolding itself like prime Agalloch into an affecting worldscape of depth and blackened colour. It’s a highly atmospheric piece that showcases Wilt’s ability to create a moving work of dark art that expresses more than the sum of its parts. This song is massively impactful, and by all rights should cement Wilt as one of the best current purveyors of atmospheric black metal.

But wait, there’s more; the second song is 1831, and opens up faster and more aggressive than its predecessor, while still carrying rich negative motion on bright streaks of melody and bottomless blackened distortion. There’s also a post-rock-esque middle section that’s a wonderfully crafted treasure trove of textured gems. Overall 1831 is a vehicle for sadness and melancholy, and no small amount of rage and despair. Wilt channel their intense emotions into a seven-minute song that should have fans of bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Alda, and the aforementioned Agalloch salivating.

Closing cut Resilience is the longest of the three, slowly building atmospheric depth through increased layers of emotive craftmanship. A song of beauty and sorrow, Resilience shows just how far above most of the competition Wilt really are when it comes to this sort of thing. The music aches with feeling, almost pulsating with vibrant, barely restrained emotion and it spreads its damaged wings with fragile grace. This is a song with a heart of delicate darkness, seemingly weighted down with all of the tragedies of the world, yet still strong enough to carry on to deliver nine minutes of passionate music.

Holy crap this is good. Wilt have returned to us more powerful and potent than ever. While I absolutely would have loved another song or two, each of the three tracks here excel in their stylistic exploration of atmospheric black metal. Huginn is an unqualified success, and I urge you to spend some quality time with it.

Essential listening.