Do you know that wolves eat little children? Well it is not actually true but the new WOLF album will make all old school heavy metalsters stand up and howl! WOLF are back with their latest album called Evil Star brand fresh out of the Abyss studio produced by Hypocrisy's vocalist Peter Tägtgren.
Sweden's WOLF were brought to life through the hands and minds of Nick Olsson (vocals, lead guitar) and Mikael Goding (bass) back in '95. Since then they recorded two albums and went on the road with bands like Edguy and Saxon. This new album comes after two years of waiting and after the smashing success of their previous album Black Wings.
The production is absolutely great although it was made in a studio renowned for its Black, Death Metal sound. Crisp sound, clear vocals with a variety of alterations of the voice, classic catchy riffs and great drums.
On, to the flesh now! The opener Evil Star is just great since it clearly states the onslaught to follow. You think that you travel back in time. A time of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon and various other megatheria of Metal. Next song that stands out is Wolf's Blood along with the Transylvanian Twilight and Out of Still Midnight. In the latter song, Nick Olsson's vocals unfold to their truest. Throughout the album his voice can make you remember a lot of classic old metal bands (to my reckoning his voice rang at times as early Judas Priest's Rob Halford as well as Crimson Glory's Midnight). The point is that his voice has a lot of potential and power that unfolds differently through every song. This fact along with the solid sound that supports this voice bass, guitars and (especially) bass makes this album a soon to be classic. Finally there are Black Wind Rider and a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper which is by far the best cover of this particular song I have ever heard.
The album will include two bonus tracks Die By The Sword, taken from their 2002 release of a 7'' named Nightstalker/Die By The Sword and I'm Not Afraid Of Life. Both songs are quite powerful and a real treat to their fans I believe.
Finally, whether you are into ol' classic style of metal, or not, you should grab this album at first sight. It's the way metal was meant to be played back then and it is, still, now! So all in all, another great album to keep the spirit of Heavy Metal young and... Heavy!