Age of the Wolf - A Pilgrimage To No Where

AGE OF THE WOLF is a stoner/doom/sludge band from Costa Rica.  I reviewed their debut album, 'Ouroboric Trances,' back in 2019 with a lot of praise.  I have waited (not so) patiently for their next album and have been awarded with their second full length album 'A Pilgrimage To No Where.'

The band has eclipsed their debut in every way possible.  The music still has the stoner atmosphere to the sludge riffs that move at a doom's pace but this time around the band goes so much darker.  Anything related to the stoner doom/sludge genre isn't usually known for being dark and deep but there are exceptions to every rule and 'A Pilgrimage To No Where' definitely is.

The production/mix is better this time around too---more robust, more expansive, if you will.  The vocal variety remains present too, everything from screams and growls, to psychedelic style cleans and rough, throaty yells. 

Musically, the band treads across the various waters that make up the doom/sludge/stoner world.  It is a world of many colors and flavors and AGE OF THE WOLF continue to capture them vividly.  The album has a wide variety of sounds without coming off as aimless or meandering.  Instead, their craft is deadly focused on their own brand of atmosphere that few band in this style can pull off.

The album opens with 'The Searing Eye,' and a massive bass intro. Within the first few seconds, the bass sets an obvious darker and more aggressive tone for this album.  When the clean guitar arrives, sprinkling dashes of psychedelia , it is also obvious the band is going to continue their journey into madness. 

The distortion kicks in, settling into a slow groove with extreme vocals screaming over top.  Gabriel's rock solid drumming holds this madness up of guitar born atmosphere up while ensuring each movement remains interesting as it moves onto the next one. 

'Onward To Penumbra,' begins with the guitar and bass dueling it out to see who has the fattest riff.  They both win and so does the listener because the following passage is sludgy, grimy, and a little unnerving. The song culminates to rising action around the 1:10 mark then drops more ten ton doom.   The drums wont' let it go and ramp it all back up again---and the song continues to march ever forward like an immortal beast.  

One doesn't often think of anything in the doom umbrella as intense but this album can be very grueling and extreme when called upon.  I enjoy this aspect quite a bit because people need to understand that slow doesn't have to mean the music can't be aggressive. 

The solo is pure stoner and so are the riffs that follow---and the the barking of the vocals over all this hazy metal is magical and out of the world.

The band speeds the tempo up a bit for 'Nexus Exitium (Pyrophylaciorum)' for one of the heaviest tracks on the album---the bass is dense but also sharp as hell as it pops out from the riffs and stabs like daggers in the dark.  Juan and Christopher's riffs are manic and add a strong sense of urgency to the track, which is welcomed.  

The last song is the min epic 'The Phantom Electric.'  Soon as the bass hits, I knew I was going to be in for a monstrous ride. The trepidation builds up when the clean guitar mixes in, giving the feeling that something is arriving.  This stoner/psychedelic movement goes for over two minutes, my nervous energy building up the entire time.  It explodes into a cacophony  of big riffs, huge vocals, and a massive rhythm section.  This song is nearly as big as the album in terms of how it just envelops and overtakes the senses.  It becomes more frantic near the end and explodes once more around the 7:10 mark for one of the heaviest pieces of music I've heard all year.

AGE OF THE WOLF's 'A Pilgrimage To No Where,' is a great success from a band who has upped their game tenfold but still hasn't hit their stride----I've no doubt there are many more moments of greatness to come from this band.