Wolves In The Throne Room – Aaron Weaver (drums)

In a very short time, Wolves In The Throne Room have become one of the top bands in the United States black metal scene. It’s impossible to talk about any up-and-coming bands in the genre without alluding to the presence of Wolves In The Throne Room. The Olympia, Washington duo have stuck to a traditional black metal-meets-psychedelic structure, which truly shines on their latest album Celestial Lineage. While Black Cascade was straight forward, with limited ambient pieces, Celestial Lineage brings these back in a refined style. Wolves In The Throne Room have reached the perfect balance between black metal tempers and ambient/drone beauty. I had the chance to speak to drummer Aaron Weaver about Celestial Lineage and what the future holds for Wolves In The Throne Room.

Dan Marsicano: Is there a central theme that surrounds Celestial Lineage?

Aaron Weaver: Yeah, there is. Celestial Lineage is the last of a trilogy that also includes Two Hunters and Black Cascade, the records that we released the past couple of years. The three records have a theme that runs through them. It’s more of a progression actually. Two Hunters begin with a certain theme and then it develops through Black Cascade and then it concludes on Celestial Lineage.

 

With this being the end to the trilogy, did the band feel like they had to end this with a big hurrah? Was there any type of emotion or mood that you wanted to get across with this album?

It is the last record of a trilogy and it kind of is the last record of a certain phase of Wolves In The Throne Room. After this, we’re planning on changing our musical style a bit. Certainly changing a lot of things in our personal lives, as far as where we’re putting our effort and what we’re spending our time doing. This record did have a lot of emotion attached to it, because we were always aware that this would be the last record that we’re going to do in this specific incarnation. There’s a strong sense of letting go of something and transcending something. I’m looking forward to the next phase in our lives and the next phase with the band as well.

 

When you started this trilogy back in 2007 with Two Hunters, did you guys always know that after this album you would change the direction of the band?

No. When we recorded Two Hunters, that was a pretty spontaneous process. We weren’t really thinking about the future at that point. That really fits with the theme of that record, which is all about a wild energy; something that’s spontaneous, very individualistic, and very personal. When we made that record, we weren’t thinking about the future at all.

When it came time to write material for Black Cascade, we knew that there would be another record after Black Cascade. Black Cascade was intended to be a much more stripped-down record than Two Hunters and more focused on the metal side of things; more focused on the riffs, the guitar sound, the drums, and the more traditional black metal elements. We knew there would be a third record, the one that became Celestial Lineage that would expand more upon the psychedelic side, the drone side that focused on dreamy ambience.

 

Do you tend to be a fan of the traditional, stripped-down side of the band or the psychedelic/drone/ambient side?

Personally, the music that I like to record is the psychedelic side and the side that focuses on layering a side. One of the things I’m really interested in with Wolves In The Throne Room is to make records that don’t sound like they are made with traditional instrumentation. It was a big goal of ours on Celestial Lineage to make the guitars sound like something else…have it sound as though it’s otherworldly or it’s coming from some sort of dimensional bleedthrough. I think we succeeded on this record, because we were able to take so much time in the studio to really get deep with the layering process and take a great deal of care to really craft the sound.

 

Have you two found a particular songwriting style that suits every album, or do you guys mix things up on each one?

We totally mixed it up on this record. I think we got maybe a bit comfortable on the last record. We had a system going. With this record, we tried to change everything about the way we wrote songs, about the way we recorded, just to make it hard on ourselves to push beyond the things that we’ve done in the past.

The main thing that we did on this record that I think really affected the songwriting was we built a studio at our compound in Olympia that holds our practice space. We were able to take a lot to time to record really detailed demo versions of all the songs and take a lot of time with the songwriting. I think we wrote two or three albums worth of material and rejected most of it and only used the melodic ideas we were really excited about. They fit the concept really well. In the past, we worked really hard on our records, but we never had the luxury of having our own studio to get really deep into the material.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about the songs that didn’t get onto the album, the “rejected material” as you called it?

None of those things became songs. Those are just things that could become songs; riffs, melodic ideas, lyrical fragments, concepts. With our songwriting, we start with a minimal skeleton of a chord progression or melodic fragment, and then start building on top of it. We used the base material that we were really excited about and then built the record out of that. There’s still a lot of other raw material that we can use in the future or maybe never use. It might be stuff that will fade away and we’ll forget about. It’s kind of hard to say at this point.

 

Where there any big changes made to the songs between the demo process and going into the studio to record?

Once we bring the producer on board, and we worked with Randall Dunn again on this record, who produced and recorded both Two Hunters and Black Cascade, things change a bit. We trust him to offer creative advice to a certain extent. So there’s definitely a few places where we trimmed some things and added some things, just in the interest of serving the song. For the most part, Nathan and I had the record fully planned out from beginning to end, with extensive notes about the production techniques we wanted to use before Randall got involved. We have a strong streak of control freak going on with Wolves In The Throne Room, which I think is a really important thing. It’s really good to have a strong vision for your band and stick to it.

 

Are you and Nathan both control freaks, and if so, do you two ever clash when it comes to writing the songs?

I think that the good news is that we both have a similar idea on how we want Wolves In The Throne Room to sound and what we want the music to focus on. We tend to trust each other to write music and suggest production ideas, even if the other person isn’t around. I think Wolves In The Throne Room is our vision and it’s something that we have created. There’s no sense of jealously in the band between us. We’ve worked on it for so long that I think we’ve found a good division of labor. We know what we’re good at individually and are able to give each other space, which is important, because nobody likes to spend too much time with their sibling. We’re able to find a way to get along.

 

What was the first song the band wrote for this album, and did that song have an influence on where the rest of the album would head?

The first song that actually got completed from beginning to end was the first song on the record, “Thuja Magus Imperium.” It did set the tone for the rest of the record. We wanted to have the first song on the album incorporate all of the different sounds and ideas and techniques we would use on the record. That song has more traditional black metal segments and long sections of psychedelic ambience and even some doom as well and Jessika’s vocals. We thought it was important to open the record with a song that draws the listener in and paints a really expansive image of the world that the record is taking place in.

At times, this album seems a bit easier to jump into than past ones. There’s a lot less noise on some of these tracks. Do you agree that this album is a little easier to get into than past ones?

I don’t know. That’s going to be up to the individual listener. I’ve heard some people say it’s one of the hardest to get into because it’s dense and impenetrable. I don’t think it wasn’t our intention either way. Honestly, when we’re recording, we’re not necessarily thinking how people are going to receive it. I think if you were to think too much about the listener, it would damage the writing process. You need to get into a private and personal space to make this sort of record. If you start thinking how people are going to respond to it or what people are going to think, then you start censoring yourself. I think you’re going to head up down the wrong road.

 

The album has two notable instrumental interludes. What impact, or significance, do they have on the album as whole?

We like to make records that create a whole world, which you can get lost in. For us, one of the big inspirations on this record was Pink Floyd records or other sort of psychedelic records from an earlier generation. Back in the days when people would really craft albums from beginning to end, not just individual tracks or a bunch of songs thrown together, but rather an album that flows in a very cohesive way from beginning to end. Those interludes are a bit of a nod to that era, that golden age of record making. Of course, all the images that those interludes and the other songs convey are specific to the world of the record and the specific themes and ideas that we work with in Wolves In The Throne Room.

 

How does it feel to have this trilogy end with this album?

On one hand, it’s a bit sad. We definitely see this as a turning point and a chance to move onto something else. On the other hand, of course, it’s very liberating. It’s opening up a whole different avenue of possibility for us both in our personal lives and also in the band. It’s definitely got some mixed feelings attached to it.

 

As a drummer, have you seen yourself evolve as a player?

Yeah, a bit. At the same time, Nathan and I don’t really consider ourselves musicians when it comes down to it. It’s not as if we practice playing guitar and drums when we’re not recording or practicing for a tour. When I get home from tour, I’ll put my drums in their case, and they will sit there for six months until it’s time to go on tour again or start recording.

I don’t think music on an everyday level. For us, guitars and drums are just means to an end. We’re far more interested in texture and creating ambience and creating atmosphere than with the musical side of it. At the same time, being in a band for this many years and spending so many months out of the year playing music, I think I’ve definitely learned things about drums and guitars and songwriting. I think that comes through on the new record. I think it’s the best record we’ve done. It’s certainly one I’m most happy with.

 

Have you always had that disconnect when it comes to playing music?

Yeah, totally. We’re coming more out of a DIY background, more than a musical background. We’ve got sort of a punk attitude to music, where it’s not necessarily about becoming an accomplished musician, but it’s about staying authentic and staying true to the ethic and the vision for the band. When we’re not on tour or recording, we’re still living the same life that we would be if we were working on the record. It’s the same life, same ethics, it’s the same ideals, but we’re not doing music at that particular point. It’s definitely all part of the same vision and the same life path that we have chosen for ourselves.

 

Whatever the future holds for the band, if you guys decide to continue to release material, will you guys take that time that you need to put out new material?

Yeah. The way we want to go in the future is to become more obscure, move farther back down into the underground, and make sure that we stick to our ethics and values of Wolves In The Throne Room. For the past couple of years, we’ve very consciously used the mainstream apparatus to our own end. We had a booking agent, we played more traditional tours, and put out our records on Southern Lord, which is a pretty high-profile record label. We did all that in order to have the resources to make a record like Celestial Lineage. In the past, we haven’t had the opportunity to do it.

Now that we’ve gotten to this plateau, we don’t want to get anything else out of the system. I think most bands would like to be always progressing in their career and play bigger shows and headline festivals and have a nice tour bus with fancy backstage catering. We don’t care about that type of thing. We’re interested in staying true to the vision of Wolves In The Throne Room, and to that end, we’re going to start going back to the way we were doing things 10 years ago. More focused on the underground.

It’s interesting how you said you guys used the mainstream apparatus. To a lot of people, you guys are an underground act right now, even with Southern Lord and the booking agent. Where do you see the band now? Do you guys still consider yourselves underground?

Yeah. It’s the degree, I suppose. Compared to Britney Spears, of course we’re underground. At the same time, even at this level, there’s still the music business. It’s still about people making money off of music. It’s not much money, and people that you deal with are certainly much cooler than the people you would deal with at a much higher level, where the real slime balls in this business appear. Still, we don’t even want to deal with this level of the business side of it. It goes against the spirit and the ethic of Wolves In The Throne Room.

I don’t regret anything we’ve done. I think we’re really stuck to our guns again and again, but at the same time, we’re at a certain place in the progression of the band. I feel there’s nothing else I want to do with it, apart from retreat back into the underground and take time to work on records and devote more time to my life here at home, instead of being on the road and being in the studio all the time.

 

Have you ever felt comfortable with all the publicity and acclaim that the band has gotten over the years?

I don’t have any problem with it at all. It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable. Obviously, anyone who releases their record publicly wants it to be heard by people. Otherwise, you would just keep it to yourself and never show it to anyone. I think anyone who says they don’t care if people respond positively to their music is lying. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it. They would keep it in their personal journal underneath their bed. I’m certainly gratified that Wolves In The Throne Room has been well received, but at the same time, it’s not like my sense of self is built upon it. I would be just as happy if people stopped paying attention to us right now and we disappeared back to Olympia. I would be just as content.

How does the band’s touring plans look for the rest of the year?

We’re about to leave on tour in the States. Like I said earlier, we’re shifting back into a DIY model. For this tour, we booked the whole tour ourselves. For the most part, we’re playing non-traditional venues. Some of the information about some of the shows will be posted at the last minute. People should keep an eye on our web site (www.wittr.com), which is the best place to find information about the shows. It’s going to be a really interesting tour. We’re packing our own PA system and light rig and a pretty big crew, so we’ll be able to play warehouse spaces and outdoors. I think there’s a few barns on the tour as well. It’ll still have that spirit of a DIY show, with the sense of freedom, but it won’t have that club or bar atmosphere. We’ll totally be able to totally control the atmosphere.

We’ll be doing that for about a month, then we’ll be touring Europe for about six weeks in October and November. Those dates will be announced soon. Then we got some more tour plans after that currently in the works. We’ll be doing the West Coast later in the winter. Maybe Australia in the works as well and maybe a few things after that. I hope to be done with touring by early spring and I will return to my farm in Olympia and probably never be seen again.

 

Are you guys done with touring after this?

No, I don’t think so. Maybe it was a bit of a hyperbole. We will always play shows. We’ll always want to do special engagements. As far as the model of being on tour for six months at a time – I certainly enjoyed it over the past couple of years – but I think I’m done with that particular model. I’m wanting to spend a lot more time in Olympia taking care of hearth and home, which is really my number one priority and really always has been. I’ve had to put it on hold for a couple of years while I focused on Wolves In The Throne Room and got to the place where we can accomplish the things we really wanted to accomplish.

 

If you could tour with one band, past or present, who would it be and why?

The answer used to be Neurosis, because they are such heroes of ours, but I guess we’ve played a bunch of shows with them. So we can knock that off the list. So I would have to say Led Zeppelin. I’m just a huge Bonham fan. Led Zeppelin is one of those kind of bands that on one hand are a bit cheesy and heavily commercial and were really derided in their time as being sort of meathead, lowest common-denominator jock-rock. I think they are one of those bands that really does have this magical quality to them. They are one of these bands that really worked with mythic energy and magic on a big scale. So I’ve got some respect for them. Then again, if someone would offer us a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, I would have to say absolutely no.