I know, I know, I know...this album was released more than six months ago. But - for Rock 'n' Roll's sake - it's such a shame for this killer CD to be 'buried' into the mag's archive list only because it came 'in' late enough. Finland rarely disappoints Rock/Metal fans -sub-genre free - and WOLFCHILD have no fear in bombarding our ears with high-quality ass kickin' hard rockin' an' rollin' music; what's up with the Finnish water, anyway???
Thrilled to see the band had already released a cover version of my beloved W.A.S.P.'s The Flame (what a fuckin' 'hidden gem' this tune is!), I plead guilty for not being familiar to the quartet's past works. Now featuring new vocalist Mika Siitonen - the album's one, Kim Nogberg, is featured in the review's 'lineup' sector above - this Scandinavian gang had already developed a couple of EPs (2003's Tales Of The Urban Decadence and 2005's Toxic) prior to their deal with - who else, for this kinda noise? - Perris Records. Having already experienced a noteworthy gig timetable - including an opening slot for Paul Di'Anno & The Killers - these drifters grabbed the chance by the balls and - stating off with an appearance in the Perris compilation Hollywood Hairspray Vol.6 - stabbed their asses with massive work so as to come up with the best possible outcome. The upshot is here, alive 'n' kickin'! Wolfchild is set to blow your speakers, it does!
Wolfchild was recorded - and financed - by the band itself just prior to the Perris deal. So what? 'Obsessed' with a live feeling, this debut CD easily needs a bottle of whisky or a dozen of cold beerz aside, just to help spreading the mood wide. Classic 70s Rock 'lubricated' with the right amount of 80s US Rock, this set of ten tunes will effortlessly bring in mind the best aura of bands like THE CULT, HANOI ROCKS (Finnish too, gottcha?), AC/DC, KISS, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and - a slice of - DANZIG. The 'DANZIG' thing applies mostly to Nogberg's throat and some guitar themes, while the vast majority of the rhythm section deeds lay on the AC/DC side. Not bad at all...
Walk Away is loud and proud, Don't Shoot Me features a treacherous guitar solo and Like A Dog grooves to the 70s likes (the way JAKYL used to do years ago). One Woman - the best tune outta the album - 'wears' a stimulating mid-tempo riff in a 'dusty' CINDERELLA-meets-L.A. GUNS mood, whereas Out From The Blues slows things down with an astonishing bluesy guitar lead. Cuts Like A Knife will getcha rocks off again - now being as straightforward as no other tune in the tracklist - and Gasoline runs like thunder in THE ALMIGHTY vein (on second thought, both most of the songs and the vocal 'approach' have much in common with Rick Warwick's company). Queen Of The Streets sets things groovy again, in a cutting-edge GRAND FUNK RAILROAD-influenced riff. Day By Day and Shadow Zone wrap up the album - hell not as fillers - with the former being a potentially 'live fave' and the latter boasting a 'strange' emotion created by (primarily) the bass lines themselves (you'll recall some of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, you will...).
The songwriting is 'classic', not novel at all. So fuckin' what? The band is tied and tight as hell, the playing is 100% rockin' and the production is purely 'alive'. Few bands have I witnessed the last years providing the masses with such high voltage Rock 'n' Roll. Nothing is bad with Wolfchild, nothing at all. 'Million-times' played themes are being performed with enough of freshness. Not that easy for anyone to do. For your car, your local Rock Club, your Saturday night alcohol party; If the drums were a little bit 'upper' in the mix and Kim's voice did not sound 'chill out' enough at (limited) times, the grade would be even higher.