Photo by Vesa Ranta
For the collective at the core of 1349, the notion of creating music together was less about galvanizing as a band and more about asserting their artistry for the sake of cultural preservation. Eight albums deep, the Norwegian black metal tour de force in 1349, have made a career of restoring the sound to it's glory days and ensuring that the spirit of the genre was forever front and center.
1349 architect Ravn spoke about his intentions in establishing the project and explains what continues to fuel the like-minded unit now decades into their tenure.
“I didn’t like the direction that black metal took in the mid part of the ’90s,” Ravn confided. “It started losing everything that I liked about black metal—the grimness, the eeriness, the primal emotions that captivated me and brought me into that sphere. You had all these synthesizer-based bands dressing up in pirate shirts and looking like goths. It ruined something that I truly hold close to my heart.”
Furthering their agenda with the release of their eighth full length effort, The Wolf and the King, the album marks the first studio album in more than five years and underscores the long established legacy of the relentless Norwegian sound.
Inspired by the alchemy of a wolf devouring the king only to succumb to the flames of chaos and upheaval to rise from the ashes as a new, more powerful king, the presentation serves as a metaphorical statement for 1349 - one that will fully relinquishes ego as a means of becoming bigger, better, more powerful and in the case of the eight-track masterclass - certainly most brutal.
While practitioners of black metal are typically much more inclined to be reclusive and evade explanation, 1349 have offered a track-by-track roadmap to the journey that is core to The Wolf and the King. With an added emphasis on restoring the savagery and shadowy style of 90s era black metal, the unit have compiled eight uncompromising tracks that both indulge lore and foster all the requisite brutality that has characterized the best examples of black metal.
"THE GOD DEVOURER"
"ASH OF AGES"
"SHADOW POINT"
"INFERIOR PATHWAYS"
"INNER PORTAL"
"THE VESSEL AND THE STORM"
"OBSCURA"
"FATALIST"


1349 EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
02.10 Berlin (DE) – SO36
03.10 Aarhus (DK) – Voxhall
04.10 Gothenburg (SE) – Filmstudion
05.10 Stockholm (SE) – Kolletkivet Livet
07.10 Helsinki (FI) – Aaniwalli
08.10 Tallinn (EE) – Helitehas
09.10 Riga (LV) – Melna Piektdiena
10.10 Warsaw (PL) – Proxima
11.10 Kraków (PL) – Kamienna 12
12.10 Vienna (AT) – Vienna Metal Meeting
13.10 Budapest (HU) – Barba Negra
15.10 Prague (CZ) – Futurum
16.10 Munich (DE) – Backstage
17.10 Milano (IT) – Slaughter Club
18.10 Colmar (FR) – Le Grillen
19.10 Aarburg (CH) – Musigburg
20.10 Oignies (FR) – Tyrant Fest
22.10 Weiher (DE) – Live Music Hall
23.10 Paris (FR) – Le Petit Bain
24.10 Bochum (DE) – Zeche Carl
25.10 Amstelveen (NL) – P60
26.10 Maastricht (NL) – Samhain Festival