LONEWOLF is basically what you get if you take the music and vocal styles of SABATON and take away the complete focus on realistic war, mixing it up a bit more with the grandiose themes of other power metal bands. They delve in to war of course, as most bands of the genre do, but make it less gritty than SABATON do by often basing it around fantasy battles rather than real ones. So basically what I'm trying to say is that LONEWOLF sound a whole lot like RUNNING WILD. LONEWOLF have been around, on and off and on again, since 1993 and "The Heathen Dawn" marks their 8^th full length album in that time. I'll admit that, in only liking power metal in general for the last 5 years, I had never heard of them before getting in to this album, and this feels like it should be a crime. LONEWOLF is exactly as driven and epic as power metal should be, and "The Heathen Dawn" is a great entry in to my library.

As I mentioned at the beginning, my first thought as soon as this started up was of SABATON, especially when it comes to the vocal style of Jens Börner. So this became enough of a reason for me to sit up and really take notice of what I was listening to, and I'm glad I did. The lyrics are very typical for power metal, covering epic fantastical battles, and seafaring warriors, as are the up-beat driven riffs, the high paced bass, and the extravagant drumming. Everything about this band screams typical power metal, but I couldn't help feeling like there was something special about them, I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. Eventually I narrowed this down to the excellent song writing that somehow, even though many of the songs sound very similar and do indeed borrow many themes from RUNNING WILD, it still manages to stay fun and interesting throughout most of the album. It feels like an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" type situation, as with how good they sound, they almost don't need the variety that others bands in the genre such as KAMELOT have. I did say almost. By the time the 11 (13 if you include the bonus tracks) songs are over, my initial elation at how great the band sounded, had grown a little sour in disappointment that they hadn't provided us with more depth. What they have sounds great, but there just wasn't much to mix it up. Thankfully the song that would be the closer if not for two bonus tracks, "Song For The Fallen" is an absolutely fantastic closer with soaring guitar and a great catchy chorus that while writing this review, has been stuck in my head the entire time. In a way I almost wish the bonus tracks weren't there, as this was a perfect way to end the album, and while these two extra songs are good, they don't come near "Song For The Fallen" and would be better placed earlier in the album.

So now 23 years after their initial formation, LONEWOLF have earned at least one new (slightly judgmental) fan, and should surely earn some more with this album. "The Heathen Dawn" is without a doubt a good album, and LONEWOLF have proven their song writing ability and their musical prowess time and time again with it. It's really only let down by the severe lack of variety that could have made this good album, a great one. With no real sign of slowing down however, I look forward to seeing what comes next from these French metallers.

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