Wolf is a Swedish heavy metal band from Örebro. They released their debut self titled album in 2000. Following 2014's Devil Seed, Feeding The Machine is the 8th album and features new band members Johan Koleberg on drums and Pontus Egberg on bass guitar. Niklas Stålvind (vocals/guitar) is the only original member left. Wolf makes Swedish NWOBHM metal, if that makes sense. They blend well with the new wave of traditional heavy metal that includes bands such as Enforcer, Ram, and Visigoth.
This is my first time listening to Wolf and after a couple of spins it becomes clear that it's one of those albums that are difficult to review. On one hand everything is OK: musicianship, song writing, and production. On the other hand, that's also the problem, it's just OK! Nothing really sands out as above average or different from the other bands aforementioned. Yes it's fun to listen to some tracks but Feeding The Machine crams 12 songs in 47 minutes and without some variability, the second half blend in together without memorable moments to keep me interested.
There are good moments with some headbanger songs that will work well live specially in a summer festival. The album opener "Shoot to Kill" (nice guitar solo and twin guitars riff) and the single "Midnight Hour" being some examples. The riffing and groove of the title track is also quite interesting, although the chorus is underwhelming. The closer and longest track "A Thief Inside" is an interesting one in which the band explores a bit with a mid tempo more progressive structure featuring interesting base lines and a longer guitar solo. Niklas delivers the vocals but also remains on the average. It resembles Udo Dirkschneider or Blackie Lawless but not as aggressive or remarkable as those icons. The guitar work is also decent featuring fist pumping riffs (such as in "Mass Confusion") and proficient guitar solos. The rhythm section do their job but rarely take the spotlight.
Wolf should be praised to keep the traditional heavy metal alive. They put together a collection of no non-sense metal anthems that will bring joy to a live audience headbanging to those tunes with their fists up. The album as a whole however doesn't bring anything new or distinctive. For the fans of NWOBHM and traditional heavy metal this is a safe bet (too safe?) to have some fun.
SCORE: 74/100
Genre: Heavy Metal
Released by Century Media Records on March 13th, 2020
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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad
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