Wolf - Ravenous

Published February 26 2009

*=Staff's pick	Speed On* Curse You Salem Voodoo* Hail Caesar Ravenous Mr. Twisted Love At First Bite* Secrets We Keep Whisky Psycho Hellions Hiding In Shadows Blood Angel

Genre	Heavy Metal	Niklas Stålvind	Vocals
Tracks	11	Niklas Stålvind	Guitar
Runningtime	48 Min.	Johannes Axeman	Guitar
Label	Century Media	Anders Modd	Bass
Release	23 February 2009	Richard Holmgren	Drums
Country	Sweden	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

The fifth album from the swedish metallers Wolf is a familiar encounter. They steadily walk along their beaten path and we are yet again served another solid dose of classic heavy metal, sounding old school enough but yet with a slight modern touch to it.

This time they have shaped up their sound a little bit with the help of renowned guitarist and producer Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Rock, Halford) and I like the update on their characteristic sound, sounding more clear and thick now. Other prominent guests on this album are Hank Shermann (first guitar solo on Ravenous) and Mark Boals (backing vocals on Love At First Bite).

The albums starts with the killer Speed On, which is uptempo with great riffing, and from there on there is a good mix of more heavy songs and midtempo ones. They have maintained their good feeling for refrains and melodies, and the Iron Maiden touch is subtly laying in the background making itself reminded occasionally. I would have wished for one, preferably two, more of the energy kick that the opening track is, but they never really reach that level again on the album.

With the heavy track Voodoo, via the catchy Mr. Twisted (albeit with a questionable chorus), Hail Caesar and Love At First Bite, and through the almost Helloween-ish Whisky Psycho Hellions and the galloping Hiding In Shadows, it rolls on in the usual and stable Wolf style, with the difference that it's a tiny bit more main stream this time with a little less peaks than on previous albums.

Regarding Niklas Stålvind's voice, which one usually loves or hates, I still think he is singing great and gives a special dimension to their music. He performs very well also here and without it, the band would be one among many even more than they unfortunately are in most people's eyes.

See also review of: Devil Seed , The Black Flame , Evil Star , Black Wings

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	6	8,5	7,5	5

Summary
5,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy