Ah, Germany. The powerhouse of high-energy metal acts such as RAMMSTEIN, KREATOR, NECROPHAGIST, and more recently WOLFPAKK. This traditional Heavy Metal duo joined together in 2010, and since then have released a new full-length album almost every two years on the dot. "Wolfpakk," their 2011 album and "Cry Wolf" in 2013 (are we starting to see a theme here?) both got glowing reviews, and it doesn't hurt that both members look like blond Nordic metal gods. What makes WOLFPAKK unique is the fact that they're classified as a two-man act, comprised of two vocalists nonetheless. For every album they release, Mark Sweeney and Michael Voss contact big names in metal (such as musicians from NIGHT RANGER, DELAIN, and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) to play guitar, bass, and drums for them. That's kind of a big deal and getting Ozzy Osbourne's support can't be ignored. So, my hopes were high. With the tragic death of Chris Cornell (ex-SOUNDGARDEN and AUDIOSLAVE) hanging over the heads of many within the metal community, I was looking forward to a dose of classic Heavy Metal to take my mind off of things.

"Falling" sounds almost like a classic Power Metal anthem, before it tears into a rhythmic guitar riff and epic vocals. The soaring melody flies over the somewhat simplistic, but musically solid, percussion, and steals the show a bit from the other instruments. I do wish that Sweeney and Voss had utilized the multitude of talented musicians they had at their disposal for a purpose other than repetitive riffs. However, the solo was impressive and boasted an YNGWIE MALMSTEEN-ish feel. In "Run All Night", the percussion really stood out. I don't even know how to describe the unique sound they managed to produce in the intro, kind of a hollow scraping sound, and the riffs in this track were decidedly more complex and interesting. The chorus wasn't my favorite, but even though it was a bit clichéd in subject matter and sound, the chugging, swinging guitar throughout the rest of the track made up for it.

The chanting at the beginning of "Blood Brothers" definitely gets the listener's attention. I gotta give it to WOLFPAKK, they really know how to capture an audience, and in this track I loved the almost percussive quality of the rhythm guitar riffs juxtaposed with the overarching lead guitar melody and undertone of the bass in the chorus. Sweeney and Voss really have amazing voices and ranges, and sound like they could fit right in on any traditional metal album. "Wolves Reign" is the title track of this album, which opens with eerie synthesized guitar and an exaggerated bass drum riff. This song is slower than the previous ones on the album, which almost gives it a Power ballad feel. It's perfect musically, WOLFPAKK has perfected the 80's Metal tone and technique. However, I found that it just didn't excite me as much as the previous three songs, and the solo didn't have the same "wow" factor.

In "No Remorse", a strange music box track starts off the song before it takes a nosedive into a rapid-fire drum beat and spiraling guitar riffs. The vocals here reminded me a bit of Blaze Bayley's in his IRON MAIDEN days, and while this song definitely aspired to attain an inspirational and energetic feel, it just seemed a bit disjointed to me at parts. The solo was a bit Bluesy, while the rest of the song was more Power Metal, and the vocals were obviously influenced by NWOBHM. It just was missing something to tie it together. "Inside the Animal Mind" gave me intense nostalgia, and a sense of déja vú. This was pure 80's sleaze, and believe it or not, I loved this song. The thumping, screeching guitar, the raw tone of the drums, the chanted chorus, the gritty vocals that just worked perfectly together to create a grimy, sexy track that had me tapping my feet the whole time. I almost wish that more songs on this album had the same feel as this one. The pure power and energy here really made this song stand out as a step above the others.

"Scream of the Hawk" begins with, you guessed it, a screaming hawk. Despite the decision to include that, this track is another of the best on the album, in my opinion. The choppy guitar combined with the multiple rhythm changes in the drum beats and the catchy drums makes the sing diverse and interesting. It also reveals Sweeney and Voss's impressive ranges, as the singer squeals "the scream of the haaawkk" and reaches ear-shattering heights. "The 10 Commandments" sort of sounds like a graduation march at the beginning, but soon explodes into ripping guitar riffs and thundering drum beats which perfectly complement the vocals. I couldn't help listening to the lyrics, and it threw me off a bit that this was a Heavy Metal song that actually supported Christianity, that's rare. But to each his own, and I don't judge musicians based on their religious beliefs. Though this song was musically solid, it didn't really stand out to me like some of the others had. It seemed a bit repetitive and simplistic.

"Mother Earth" is drum and bass-centered, which was very smart. The bass and drums weave together into a baseline for the swinging and catchy guitar riffs, and the vocals are slightly muted and electronically distorted. This song is definitely politically-motivated and meant to inspire environmental activism and oppose government action which disregards the planet. The screaming solo and real passion that went into this song elevated it to one of the best on this album, though I do think that it could've been made a bit shorter to pander to those with short attention spans. "Tomorrowland" is a pure and simple ballad. That's it. With a mournful cello in the background and a slow piano riff, it starts out slow before the song takes on a bit of a Power-Pop tone in the chorus. I rarely like ballads, so I could be biased, but this song just didn't seem like anything special to me. Frankly, not to be harsh, but it was boring, had an overused tone, and didn't bring anything new to the table.

In the last song, "I'm Onto You", the band blasted back for one last burst of strength. I loved the groove of the guitars, the chugging bass, and the drums which cut in and out to isolate the guitar riffs. The vocals took on a more traditional Metal sound, which added some much-needed power and energy and took this song to the next level. It wasn't complex, but it was classic and catchy, which I think is the main goal of WOLFPAKK when writing their music. To conclude, the talent in this band is immense between Sweeney and Voss's crazy vocal ranges and their many famous guest musicians. However, given that, I was just looking for more. Don't get me wrong, there were some songs on this album that blew me away, but a lot of them were clichéd and reused so many elements from traditional 80's metal that they lost my interest.