Death Wolf :"IV Welcome the Dark"

Any time I say this album really surprised me then spoiler alert  that mean I like what I am hearing. I have learned to go into most albums with low expectations to spare me from disappointment. I review so many albums , just think how depressed I would be if I went into every album hoping it was going to be the best thing ever. These guys used to have a more punk slant to their sound , not that has gone more in a thrash direction. The thing that is great about this band however is that they are darker than your average thrash band. It is not until the third song that I hear something that is dark enough to have a goth influence, most of the time they are full chug ahead.

They really have this thrash sound dialed in. The guitar sound is very epic and powerful. The vocals help set them apart , they are exclaimed in a forceful and dramatic fashion. Sometimes he actually sings. They vocals are at least double tracked some times there are more layers. "Funeral Pyre" has a more deliberate pulse that proves to be just as compelling. The chant of the vocals is pretty catchy and the guitars work well with it. The vocals are a little more throaty on "Speak Through Fire". They speed up on the chorus , but for a thrash band they do not prioritize speed. The guitars get more melodic and joined by keyboard on " Serpents Hall" .  It moves a slower mid tempo giving it a darker feel.

I can traces of both Death in June and the Doors on " Into the Woods". It is the first more rock  roll song on here/. I am not sure I would be quick to claim they are a goth band. When they charge back into the straight forward thrash on the song after this it feels a little like a cop out. I do not think it is as catchy as earlier in the album when they did this sort of thing. "Conqueror's Flame" . It is more like an outro than a song as it doesn't build up until midway into the song. Good sounds but not the best song. I will give this album a 9.5, it borders both black metal and thrash due to how dark it is. Practice makes perfect as the 4th time was the charm for them to hit a bulls-eye. Being released on Regain Records.

Death Wolf :" 2 Black Armoured Death"

The second album from this Swedish band who boasts having the bassist of Marduk in it's ranks. They were once called Devils Whorehouse before changing their name , so from that alone there's is going to be a Misfits influence but I'd say this more often metal than not though, they do use the very straightforward version of what a suppose it a punk take on the blast beat.

The production has an odd density to, like the producer had been listening to Nails a lot , not to say it has that sort of crunch but if you told me Kurt Ballou produced this it would make sense. In some ways this comes across like a black n roll take on Life of Agony's "the River Runs Red " album as we ave goth and hardcore ,iced together though it's no the first marriage of this sort.

There is an eighties metal punk crossover element that at times brings something like D.R.I to mind, and then at others the Danzig solo years on the interlude "Luciferian Blood Covenant. The title track is certainly the main culprit in the crossover department, bordering on being flat put punk but these are metal heads trying to play punk rather than the other way around. Not as effective as Slayer's Undisputed Attitude where they flat out covered punk songs, though haven't been able to convincingly metal them selves afterward. I think "Death Wolf March" strikes a better balance. At six minutes the a heftier song than the punk bursts, it gives more breathing room to create an almost doomy feel. Though midway I found my self looking at the iPod thinking o.k they have another three minutes left what are they going to do to switch it up.

There is little more of a fifties swing to "My Little Black angel" but at the same time there's still a vikingnmetal metal under current. The vocals stay rough where I think the song could have benefitted from more finesse. The fact the solo thing in here I can't tell if it's a guitar or a synth earns them some points, though it probably a guitar with effects on it.

The punk side returns with "Malice Striker" though there are doomy metal components to it and the clean vocals while Danzig is some sense also have thatmid range King Diamond croon to them, though if any prying I would say these guys are more likely to have a Merciful Fate influence than the Kng solo, though comes across like In Soltitude. By the refrain I'm almost sure it's a merciful fate influence.

The more Danzig like power ballad "Lord of Putrefaction" goes bad cop on what I suppose is the chorus. These are the first real horro punk moments I have come across though I suppose it sussposedto be large component of what they do. The vocals finallypop out of the mix more on the bridge. They are a,it'll dry and could use some verb.

We waffle back into punk with "World Serpent" which has more of a Slayer feel to it in how the vocals are spat back at you. The execution on it is rather bland. I think on the doomed pace like "Rothenburg" is a tempo they are more comfortable with surprising considering some of their black metal roots, but you know some sounds just come across better at certain tempos than others. I think in the songwriting department more variation and dynamic within the songs would be a better move for the as I find my self getting bored midway through. The point is often belabored, shorter verses more dynamic chrouses and varied bridges...ya know the basics are things they could be fit from, with something like Marduk who can become dynamically flat I can see where this skill set was not developed.

The eighties makes a appearance with some post NWOBHM on "Darkness of Hel" that has the Diamond Head of Maiden gallop to it. The Viking blood boils here, it can't be hidden by a devil lock.The bass player wakes up and I wonder what has he been doing all album, the vocals take on more of a rasp. I think if they could blend this rather than the punk thing with the death punk vibe they would be onto something.

I finally figure out by the time we get to "Night Stalker" that the gruffness of the vocals reminds me of Primordial. This of to Richard Rameriez, comes of a little forced, the line "beating the drum for funerals to come" is well awkward. We continue on the repetitive path not the left hand me more often than not here.

Then the final nail I the coffin is "Sudden Blooletter" where I can see the sacrafice that needs to be made is this album from my iPod to make room for the other stuff I need to get to this week. I'll give this album a 6.5, there are some cool dark moods captured, if you like harder metal but find your self with a Danzig fixation give this at least another point and hunt it down. Its more often than not just not my thing, the spooky crooning I like and some of the more down trodden Life of Agony moments but all in all I don't have to have this though you might.