Bare-knuckle hardcore, produced with metal roar by Jim Siegel (Dropkicks and their knock-offs), last release on Unearth’s Trevor Phipps’ Ironclad Recordings.
Mostly gone are the growls, replacing them are harmonies that sound a lot like Finland’s Lullacry. The same notes and melodies are repeated, song after song.
The style is more Meshuggah than Hatebreed. The roar is immense, the guitars compressed and precise (they’re Swedish, duh), and the drumming mind-boggling.
Strengths are many, top being the butt-shaking riffs. Keyboard washes are a nice touch, but alas, vocals are generic hollering and the production is plastic.
That amazing voice is female. Laura Nichols, she’s got the goods. The fretboard-hopping fills and singing leads are classy. The drummer is a freakin’ beast.
I have a soft-spot for some of this. Not an ironic, winking love, I mean I like and respect it, goofy or not. But Wolf is more Hammerfall than Sonata Arctica.