Seemingly every year, the British Isles surface with a band that grabs people’s attention even before they record their first album.  A few years ago, it was Winterfylleth, and now, it is The Wolves of Avalon.  Featuring two members of Meads of Asphodel, the Wolves of Avalon already have some hype to live up to, and with their debut album Carrion Crows over Camlan, they certainly do their best, but is it enough?

As you would expect from a band name like The Wolves of Avalon, they play a combination of folk and black metal.  However, for their debut Carrion Crows over Camlan, The Wolves of Avalon go all out to ensure that the album is a success.  To that end, they have enlisted musicians such as Rob Darken (Graveland), Magnus O. Wohlfart (Yggdrasil), and Roibéard Ó Bogail (Mael Mordha) to help out.  The album title is taken from the battle in which the Arthurian warriors were defeated at the hands of the Germanic forces around the time period of 500 AD.  The music itself conjures up an atmosphere that reflects a time when the British had their pride, Gods, and tribes before the Germanic forces invaded. 

The basics of the Wolves of Avalon sound are rooted within the Pagan folk metal styling with elements of black metal mixed in, all done at mid-tempo.  The vocals aren’t overly growl plagued to the point of needing a translator to figure out what is being said, but it’s also nowhere near the clean style normally used as a crutch to tell a story.  Given the pace in which the music is set, combined with the generous use of violins to create a minstrel-like atmosphere, the vocals are right for the style.  Production values aren’t necessarily clean, which helps in developing The Wolves of Avalon’s want to cover the 500 AD time period.  With a running time just under an hour however, Carrion Crows over Camlan does tend to drag in spots and there are parts that are being forced (e.g. female vocals on “Lost Gods We CallUpon You”), particularly in the early going when it is trying to establish itself on the album.  This actually improves as the album goes along, with the flow of the album becoming smoother as it goes along, as well as the elements working in unison.

The Wolves of Avalon tries to establish its credibility in a similar manner to Folkearth.  The difference is that the former seems to get it together as an album like Carrion Crows over Camlan goes along while the latter is mostly unable to figure out how to put it all together.  That isn’t to say The Wolves of Avalon is without flaws, and the first half of Carrion Crows over Camlan does have flaws, ones that are mostly corrected by the time the album is over.  It’s a learning experience for the band, one that hopefully will carry over to the next album.

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*Comments:

1.  Intro - This Mighty Isle
2.  The Wolves of Avalon
3.  Enchanted Spirits of Warriors Slain
4.  Lost Gods We Call on You
5.  British Tribes Unite
6.  The War Song of Beli Mawr
7.  The Siege of Badon Hill
8.  The Last Druid
9.  Carrion Crows over Camlan
10.  Britain is Fallen
11.  Ravens over Dumonia
12.  Song of the Graves

Total playing time:  58:17

Release Date: April 2011
Label: Godreah Records

The Wolves of Avalon - Carrion Crows over Camlan

Reviewer: Peter

July 12, 2011