The history of In The Woods ... dates back to 1990 and the
creation of another band,
Green Carnation.
With that band splintering in 1992, three of the members (these
being Anders Kobro and the brothers Botteri) decided to shift
direction away from the death metal of that band's early period,
and after recruiting new members, In The Woods ... was born.
Originally described as black metal, that term does the band no
favors, as the orchestration and experimentations shows a much
more varied sound than simple black metal.
HEart Of The Ages is the more immediate album, featuring some
incredible shrieking vocals (though clean vocals are found
throughout) and generally more mid-paced, guitar-oriented songs,
while the latter two albums
feature male and female clean vocals, more
experimentation, and a slightly slower pace overall.
Comparisons to bands such as
Therion,
The 3rd And The Mortal,
Celtic Frost, and
My Dying Bride have been made, and while
In The Woods ... sounds like none of these, there is a touch
of each in the mix, along with others as well.
They prefered a low profile (indicated by the cryptic band
member names, and never indicated who played what), heightening
the sense of mystery that surrounded them.
After releasing Three Times Seven On A Pilgrimage (a collection
of three singles recorded at various times over their career),
it was announced that a concert in December of 2000
(later released as Liveatthecaledonienhall)
would indeed
be their last, closing the books on a quite unique band.
Yet in 2014 a modified lineup was again active.
Recent album: Diversum,
released on November 25, 2022.
