Four spins. That's what it took. I don't know if I'm just having a particularly dense week, but it took the fourth spin of "Ironclad" by Zurich, Switzerland's WOLF COUNSEL for me to get it. And brother, I got it good! I think a combination of elements, from the cover design to the song titles, to some of their PR info, had me going in thinking that I knew what to expect, and when that expectation wasn't met, some part of my brain temporarily shut down and wasn't letting information in properly. I was lukewarm on the album. Then the fog lifted, my thinking cleared and whammo! at listen number four the 'dopeness' got through. Let this be a lesson kids: multiple listens before you even open the stupid laptop.

See, I read words like "Doom" and saw vaguely epic/militaristic-feeling song titles, that mean-ass, no-nonsense font and cover art, and I thought I had these guys pegged sonically. I was going to press "play" and be treated to, at best, the massive gravitas of BELOW or maybe the overwrought near-parody of SORCERER, something CANDLEMASS-y. In fact, the reason I was so thrown, and my cerebellum revolted, is that what WOLF COUNSEL are up to is something much more minimalist, while no less impactful than what I was anticipating. There's a Spartan, patient quality to the songs on "Ironclad" that, once I opened myself to it, was one of the most rewarding Doom recordings I've heard in some time.

The minimalism I mentioned manifests in a structural simplicity - the riffs seem deceptively basic and the songs aren't jam-packed with them. The ultimate effect is much more subdued and hypnotic than the bombast I was expecting. "Pure As The Driven Snow" typifies this with its sinister three-chord main riff met with eerie baritone harmony vocal - very effective. It hit me that the comparison my ears were hearing was more from the Stoner Doom end of the spectrum than the epic. There's a minor undercurrent of swirling psychedelia at play from the subtle touches of delay and chorus on Ralf W. Garcia's vocals, the droning quality of the doubled guitars and mantra-like unison singing - it all puts me in the mind of COLOUR HAZE or even the tougher moments of MARS RED SKY (though the vocals are of an opposite range). The title track, up second, seals in the grooviness, swinging out wide with bluesy triplets and marvellous bass flourishes. These guys know their way around what makes a rock song, that's for sure.

Now, allow me to correct some misconceptions I may be giving via words like "subtle" and "patient." This stuff is gigantic and tough as nails; it's just also really smart. The guitar leads are mean and gnarly, but also show some restraint; a "nothing-to prove" quality, and ain't nothing tougher than that. Frequently a solo reminded me of John Christ's work on the early DANZIG albums, where he was purposely underplaying, in contravention of his natural style. Leads here have the sound of a deft, skilled hand choosing tasteful melodic impact over flash, with the title track being an excellent case in point. Rhythm guitars blend just the right mixture of amp drive and fuzz to provide both a crunchy attack and that wall of sustain that slower Metal needs. The low-end harmonies that Reinhart and Huber get up to on "The Everlasting Ride" are utterly spectacular - along with more killer, on-target leads. Through it all, Reto Crola pummels the kit relentlessly but with applied Swiss-watch precision (forgive me), and a special penchant for those thump-y 70s tom fills.

One of the things I dig so much about this record is that while it can have this groovy, occasionally psychedelic feel (the wah-wah bass on "When Steel Rains" is nothing if not lava-lamp ready), the lyrics are more martial than mystical, more epic than ephemeral, which grounds the album on the side of Classic Heavy Metal rather than Stoner or Occult Doom.  It's plenty dark and eerie, no more so than on the monumental, mournful closer "Wolf Mountain" but it never lets the listener forget that first and foremost: all Metal is Rock'n'Roll - and these guys can rock it. If I had a quarrel with the production, it's a small matter, but I just want those guitars ever-so-slightly higher in the mix, but that's insignificant, because this album sounds outstanding and what's more: it sounds natural - it sounds real.

A project that gestated since the 90s, conceived by seasoned Metal veterans, and finally undertaken just a few years ago, WOLF COUNSEL are a powerful, endlessly satisfying voice on the Doom Metal stage. They adroitly cull from the best of the first 20 years of Metal music, without ever coming across as a throwback act or any sort of imitator. "Ironclad" is a superb debut from a band I expect to continue creating an impact. Theirs is a signature concoction, echoing familiar sounds, but pared down and delivered with a refined dexterity that I'm certain won't take me four spins to recognise the next time around.