The Black Flame

WOLF's The Black Flame (released in '06 under Century Media Records) has become something of a cult favorite among fans of modern day traditional/speed metal - with reason as it's easily the Swedes strongest offering, topping even the likes of "Black Wings" and "Evil Star", both trailblazing heavy metal albums in their own right. Hence, slip on the Teflon and brace yourselves as this review will be of the "the General's bird's-eye view/direct from the battlefield "vantage point" variety.

There's no filler on The Black Flame; only viciously gripping, well-construed and mercilessly melodic straight-for-the-jugular heavy metal. The opening verses and bars of "I Will Kill Again" are too good:

"Nothing but time is what I kill these days
In this concrete cell just big enough for a bed
The walls have scratch marks that's how I sharpen my nails
And I don't need a view I have memories instead

Oh no, can't you see even though imprisoned
I will always be there for you to haunt you in your dreams

Don't release me, I'd kill again
Don't make the mistake and take my shadow for a friend
Never unleash the beast
Or feed the flame
It wouldn't take long until I killed..."

I'm unsure what it is about this amazing opener. Could it be Niklas Stalvind and Johannes Axe Man's rumbling rollicker of a guitar riff, which gets me going with relentless vigor? Or perhaps Tobias Kelldren and Mikael Goding's thunderous onslaught of drums and bass, which flatten like pancakes? Maybe it's Stalvind's eerily smug interjections which bring out inner wolf...

The breakdown guitar riff at 02:25 is one of the most visceral ever, not to mention the solos, which blaze scorched Earth and beyond with their unrelenting fury and spooky harmony. The ghostly chorus to "At The Graveyard" will haunt me until I'm an old, wizened man. "Meet me when the clock strikes…midnight!" It's quite shudder some. The underlying lead guitar wail is enough to give the shivers alone. Breaking through the chapel with unearthly thumps is Kelldren's groovy plodding between bone-rattling solos. Both opening tracks are top highlights for sure. "Black Magic" starts off with a putrid demon belch followed by funky drum 'n' bass battering, alongside perhaps weaker riffing on the album, but nothing to shake a phalange at once the leads come into play following Stalvind's pitying forewarning "I am lost Inside/ buried alive/ I wish I could turn into stone…" He really sounds like he does too. As for the solos, well, what else it there to say? They kick ass as usual while retaining a distinct lugubrious feel. What's really cool is how the solos, here (and elsewhere on The Black Flame), evoke sleek cover art's pleasing hues. (Oh, sweet synesthesia!)

I find this gets better with every listen. As a juvenile cub, I immaturely considered "Legions Of Bastards" a superior album. Finally, as a full grown specimen, clearly perceive this youthful folly, as "Den Svarta Lågan" IS Wolf's most fantastic offering, paws down. Trotting along now, the classic early 80s Iron Maiden vibe of "Love Bites" - which is perhaps the less, shall I say, forceful track - soon clears the gloomily tawdry stage for "Make Friends With Your Nightmares", a titanic hit, both lyrically and musically. Its introspective slant and cheerful Adams Family/Eddie Munster bell-tolling makes me feel a gleeful trick or treater on Halloween...toting black balloons! The chorus does a fine job of elbowing its way into your psyche, surely leaving a long-lasting imprint. The classic Swedish "NWOTHM" lead command's in full swing and will silence the scene's detractors in a flash whilst Goding's hip shaking bass line will make you feel like you're waltzing with a zombified belle at the Dance of the Dead.

As for pedantically titled "Demon", its opening guitar jingle and symbiotic bass thuds and drum overkill make for a deadly thrust while still in remission from album's first half. Stalvind plays his Belzebuth act to a tee: "I will eat your flesh and mind…AND MIND!!". I love the Pentagram-esque break midway in before what could be some of Stalvind and his cryptic crony guitar hero, Johannes Axeman's most stand-out, jaw dropping-ly great soloing among Wolf's darkly illuminated discography. At the onset, it sounds like the guitars are wailing their pain; especially spectacular is the sinister and melodic part giving way to Stalvind's appealingly repugnant return. The last lyrical verse (preceding an Arch Enemy/Burning Bridges quality closing solo) is especially stunning in both lyrics and prose:

Wrapping up like Dracula, "The Dead" imitates Black Wings' knavish momentum and glide - it's all business, with its revved up Painkiller approach and bellicose chorus ("Let the Dead sleep in Peace!"). Thanks to a gripping, razor sharp and creepy atmospheric buzz, it's clearly a winner. "Seize The Night" wouldn't have been out of place on Ravenous as it has the same kind of prowler quality to it. Goding keeps his A-Game up on this track too, making his "presence known like a smelly dump in a public restroom". (GuntherThe Undying gets credit for that one.) Although its lyrics don't hold a black candle to past unholy oaths, "Steelwinged Savage Reaper" is, nonetheless, an excitingly cool number which evens features a badass Pantera i.e. "The Badge" police siren soundbite. Its chorus is also a lot of fun to sing along to, albeit not quite as eerie as usual. Riff and solo wise, these stragglers are on par with earlier fare. Ditto for closer "The Children Of The Black Flame", with its archeological sounding exoticism and frenzy, amid ziggurat styled, stomping mid-tempo pace.

Through and through, Wolf's stunning masterwork is wound tighter than Frankenstein's neck bolt.

(Just don't make a mistake and "take my shadow for a friend.")

Due to reasons that I do not know, the Swedish guys that work under the banner of Wolf have yet not reached the status of an open air headliner. The music business will never reveal all its secrets. Anyway, as far as I can see, Wolf play a powerful, traditional but not outdated type of heavy metal. It is a kind of consensus metal, because it reminds each and every fan of the genre of his metallic roots. Wolf actually deliver all components that it needs to leave a huge impact; good riffs, a vigorous lead singer, the necessary amount of melodies, comprehensible structures and cleverly designed choruses. But what do we expect of a youth that worships nothing else but its smartphone? Okay, let's forget this heretical question. I am just too old to stay fair.

Wolf unite the typical features that made heavy metal to such a strong movement and they combine them in a skilful manner. As a logical consequence, the album houses some exciting jewels. "Black Magic" is not a Slayer cover, but a very strong own number. Equipped with heavily pumping guitars and a stomping rhythm, the song depicts the most glorious elements of unconsumed heavy metal. The accusing chorus and the fundamental emotionality of the entire piece, brilliantly expressed by Stålvind's sonorous voice, are also worth mentioning. From my perspective, "Black Magic" marks a strong statement. It says: as long as you are able to deliver gripping riffs and consistent structures, you do not need to know how to spell inovation, innowaytion or however this goddamned word is spelled correctly.

The songs of Wolf are not totally free from a few number of crooked parts. The verses of "At the Graveyard" provide evidence in this context. Nevertheless, the big picture shows a maturely acting formation that has a good understanding for the right mixture of melodies of heaviness. Breaks and tempo changes play a minor role, the focus is successfully put on a good flow. Generic solos are not missing as well so that Wolf cover the entire range of usually required metallic elements. Yet these solos do not stand out, they are well embedded into the respective number. As a consequence, the most characterizing features of "The Black Flame" are the riffs, the leads and the mature vocals. The robust and spirited closer bundles all these strengths, especially the unflinching guitars - just listen to the guitar work at the beginning - leave a good impression.

The level of aggression is alright and the most aggressive moment, the chorus of "The Dead", shows up in another great song. In addition, the transition from the bridge to the chorus is one of the rather rare bulky moments of the album. Good to know that Wolf are able to vary their song patterns from time to time. Nevertheless, the creation of drastic twists and turns is not the most practiced hobby of Stålvind and his comrades. Anyway, the band has released a very solid album which benefits from a slightly polished yet powerful production. 72% from my side. True fans of traditional metal may add a 10 percentage points. Guess you should put away your smartphone and give "The Black Flame" a chance.

You know when you're speaking to someone you find really really physically attractive, someone from whom you're trying to hide all your many, many erections, someone who turns your knees to the kind of jelly my grandad would make (vodka jelly, but only vodka) - you get a bit tongue-tied, don't you? I think that is more or less a suitable equivalent for what I feel when trying to talk about an album as buxomly sexy as Wolf's The Black Flame. My tongue forgets it usual function, but unlike in the previous scenario, I don't find myself drooling uncontrollably (though that would be a fitting reaction), I find myself unable to stop yelping and shouting and screaming along with the lyrics in a voice that isn't mine at all. You want to know something? I have found myself singing every one of these songs while going about my daily tasks and not just once either: no, no, we're talking about multiple spontaneous orgasms over a prolonged period. I am haunted by the solo's time change in 'Make Friends with Your Nightmares'. I have literally woken up in the middle of the night, compelled by the urge to hum the bridge riff to 'Demon'. And neither of these are the best songs. The album is really that good.

Now don't get me wrong, I know what Wolf are all about. They are mere showmen, tricksters, thieves, trotting out second hand ideas with an extra flourish they might call their own. They stole from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and Accept and Helloween and Mercyful Fate. They plundered the heavy metal treasure of the '80s and polished it until it shone and they could claim it was new. But, let's be honest, it takes a very special kind of thief to pinch Rob Halford's voice, King Diamond's lyrics, Kai Hansen's lead ability, the speedy riffs of Wolf (coincidence?) Hoffmann, and the relentless bounce and dash of Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain. Is that not the perfect heavy metal crime? These thieves would be operating on about the same level of brilliance if they had stolen the Forbidden City and turned it into an adventure playground. They have ambition. They have class. And they seem to have an innate knowledge of exactly what sounds huge (I assume the producer has already been beatified).

This is not a speed metal album like the 3 earlier Wolf releases. There are speedy songs, particularly the aptly named 'Steelwinged Savage Reaper', but the real pace and adrenaline comes from the fact that every riff is killer, every vocal line is spot on, and every solo takes the song to an even higher plane. This is a Wolf that has run with the pack and had its share of kills: this is a supremely confident Wolf that can pursue its victim with remorseless accuracy and focus, a Wolf that has honed its art to such a level that success is always inevitable, no matter what form the chase takes. The young Wolf would not have dared to attempt the riffless verses of 'Black Magic' or the ominous, mist-soaked bridge of 'Seize the Night', but here the former is atmospheric and narrative, while the latter simply oozes danger. That wiser Wolf seems to have considered everything so carefully in advance that, once it begins, riff after riff and song after song sweep down like the last turn in a game of Mouse Trap - that little boot kicks you right in the nuts and the cage slithers down over your heart and, believe me, you won't ever escape.

The lyrics on The Black Flame play gloriously to Wolf's strengths. The songs are coherent, adrenalised stories of moonlight, madness, and imprisonment that Niklas Stalvind brings alive with his distinctive nocturnal howl and is-he-quite-alright stressing of certain notes. Opening track 'I Will Kill Again' is so vibrant and dramatic that I can actually see the knife sink in as the solo flashes and hacks at a riffy torso, plus I'm having trouble remembering if the opening "Oh brother, where are you now?" of 'At the Graveyard' sounds like a line from Shakespeare or if Shakespeare was also a Wolf fan. The only songs that just let that amazing intensity dip a fraction are 'The Bite', which is a little less imaginative in the riff department, 'Steelwinged Savage Reaper' for being lyrically generic, and 'Children of the Black Flame', which trades an ounce of breakneck crunch for a soaring chorus that drifts hopefully off into the dawn, leaving you panting but extremely satisfied. And, my god, this will not be a one night stand.

Wolf from Sweden is definitely a point of interest in the way that their music in unabashedly old school in every sense of the word. I mean, it's seriously like they jumped on a portal in 1986 and rode right into the modern day and started recording music. You won't find any growling, progressive elements or pinch harmonics here, because those things just are not cool enough for this band, who only play old school Heavy Metal in the most old school Heavy Metallish way possible, and we fucking love it, man. This is The Black Flame, and while it might not be perfect, rarely has the modern music world seen such a devout and heartfelt tribute to the old days.

Wolf have created a very fun album here. It's kind of like listening to a B horror movie in musical form, with cheesy lyrics and vocals that so shamelessly recall King Diamond, and guitars that lie pretty much in the same vicinity - loud, screaming, twisted slabs of darkened Metal paying homage to Don't Break the Oath with a little bit of Piece of Mind on the side. Or rather, it's more like an aural form of Halloween night, complete with kids and costumes and grinning Jack O' Lanterns and the whole deal. Everything here is so over the top and silly, and yet it all rules, without exception. Like when you hear the vocalist belt out lyrical gems like, "Restless roaming screaming in the dark/Twilight maniac hunting the night away/Blood-thirst predator, bloodline of Lucifer/Red-eyed raging sadistic terrier!" Can it get any cooler than that? And this band isn't trying to be ironic or funny at all, that's really what they want to sing about. It's an immortal formula; just take some kinetic, Earth-shaking riffs, mix them with high pitched, aggressive vocals, add in some so-cheesy-they're-awesome bloody horror movie lyrics, and you've got yourself a Heavy Metal certified slab of gold.

With that in mind, though, what about the songs here? Well, "I Will Kill Again" kicks things off with a metal-barbed punch in the mouth, and it's heavy, hooky and catchy, but then "At the Graveyards" starts up, and it's all of those things and more. Niklas Stålvind really has a great voice for this kind of thing, with the strange rhythmic patterns of the vocal lines sounding absolutely delightful. Some people won't like it because it sounds a bit unprofessional, but me, I say it enhances the performance. "Black Magic," "The Bite," "Demon," "The Dead," the high-speed "Steelwinged Savage Reaper" (what a cool title!), and especially the epic "Children of the Black Flame" are all killer songs with hooks and driving conviction for the ages. I could go into more detail on those, but really, it would just be redundant: they all have the killer riffs and electrically charged melodies we expect from these guys, and they are all worth replaying many times over. And I think that's well worth calling this one a modern Metal classic, right up there with Rob Rock, Crystal Viper, Slough Feg and the rest. Get this one if you have even a Metal bone in your body, whelp!

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

I hadn't listened in a good heavy metal album probably in ages, but Wolf and fellow swedish band Enforcer hit me like a derailed train. Enforcer were solid, good and promising for the future. Wolf, on the other hand, are shocking.

There comes a time in a fan's life when he realizes he isn't a teenager anymore, and he can't be shocked that easily anymore. Sometimes, it's so damn hard for an album to even be of interest to you, when you've listened to an increasing number of albums, it's natural you become more, and more, and more selective. Such is my relationship with classic heavy metal (including US power which I never really understood why it was separated as a genre-I mean Sanctuary, Titan Force, Metal Church and the like). I absolutely love it, it's the soundtrack of a lifetime as I grew up listening to such things. But, nowadays, I rarely have a head banging when listening to new bands playing that way. Even superstars of the kind quite bore me with their newest releases, but sure as hell there comes a time when something comes along and you are pulled out of your misery.

Ladies and gents, we're still alive, as Dave Almighty would say. Wolf is the kind of band that "lures" children to listen to heavy metal, if you get the point. Their heavy metal is fast, HEAVY (in all capitals), solid, well-produced, and fun. So just for tonight I've decided that I'll be a teen again, I'll bang my head like crazy to "Demon" and "At The Graveyard", I'll mosh onto the drawers and stagedive onto my bed until it breaks into pieces. Maiden reside in here, Priest reside in here, Accept reside in here, WASP, Armored Saint, Artch, Jag Panzer, Mercyful Fate reside in here. Classic heavy metal with all its cliche lyrics and evil thematology, all its ear-buzzing solos and haunting refrains. It's so good it made me nostalgic of a time I was purchasing 4 or 5 albums per month and was disappointed even if one of them was just mediocre. Wolf's music is a trip that all of you need, because we've made things too complex and we're missing the point.

I remember now. I remember how it all started...

So, after looking for this all over the place but finding it nowhere, I chanced upon it on a blogsite. I have since managed to find it and buy it, something I would not do unless I enjoyed it. Generally, I do not enjoy power metal, but this is an exception to that rule which has led me to seriously reconsider my stance of always trying before I buy with power metal.

The album kicks off with a great song in ‘I Will Kill Again’. This instantly asserts the music’s authority over your ears for the next three quarters of an hour. It abides to all the power clichés, but yet manages to retain that bit of bite that elevates it above the level of its peers. With bombastic riffs, great vocals (although the first time I heard any of Wolf’s music, I thought that the singer was female) and a good rhythm section that keeps the adrenaline pumping, this song should be in constant rotation on my compilations for a few months at least.

I mentioned earlier that this album sticks to all the clichés. Unfortunately, Wolf have been playing this sort of power metal for their whole career, and do not look like changing from that. This is the only downside of this album. Whilst it all sounds great, and with a great production as well, it has all been done before time and time again. What separates Wolf from a lot of similar bands is that they sound like they mean it. I also mentioned earlier about the bite that this album has, and not just because there is a song called ‘The Bite’! The production is polished yet raw, so it is kind on the ears yet relentless in its attack. It is not quite the over-polished, tedious production that a lot of modern metalcore bands suffer, yet it is a step above the warm fuzziness of the demo or old death and black metal albums that seems to cripple the music and stop it in its steps. The best comparision in terms of production would be that of mid to late 90s melodic death metal, such as ‘Slaughter of the Soul’, ‘The Haunted’ or ‘Stigmata’. This is probably due to the location of recording – Studio Fredman.

The most important thing about this album is the consistent catchiness of the songs, with stand-out songs in this respect being the first two tracks – ‘I Will Kill Again’ and ‘At The Graveyard’, and ‘Steelwinged Savage Reaper’. There exists one common factor amongst these that makes them stand out – the choruses. These are all huge hooks, drawing the listener into the world of the songs, and then knocking them out with the following technical proficiency of the verses – not quite up to the technical standard of Nile or Origin, but if it were, it would have a detrimental effect on the songs and subsequently on the album as a whole. The only thing which detracts from these three choruses are the stereotypically pathetic and (I am forced to use this word again) clichéd lyrics. I would like to quote the chorus of ‘I Will Kill Again’ to prove my point:

‘Don’t release me!
I’ll kill again!
Don’t make a mistake and take my shadow for a friend!
Never release the beast
Or feed the flame!
It won’t take long until I kill.’

Next, I will tell you about the riffs. These are incredibly good, reminiscent of Maiden circa ‘Piece Of Mind’ or ‘The Number Of The Beast’. Each one sounds different (no recycling here!), and each one, more importantly, sounds good. They are all huge, call them crowd pleasers if you wish, but they are designed to be played in a stadium. They also have the odd bit of aforementioned technical proficiency, so as a whole, I think they can be described by my verbalization of the riff of ‘At The Graveyard’ – ‘DEH DEH DEH dr d dlwandwny DEH DEH DEH dr d dlwandwny DEH DEH DEH dr d dlwandwny Dow Dow Dow’.

The vocals easily live up to the standard of the riffs. Hitting near impossible heights without sounding too high, the vocalist must have a huge range. And holy crap, he can sing. Even though there’s only one guy singing, there often seems to be a range of vocalists creating a wonderful harmony. But no, it’s just one guy, but doing wonderful things with his voice.

While the two treble clef instruments (guitar and vocals) steal the limelight, the bass and drums do the dirty work, providing a much needed backbone to their wonderful performance. I heard power metal without bass once. It was fucking awful. But anyway, like the rest of the band, they do exceptionally well in this respect, willing to accept their less prominent positions. Whilst there are no particularly complicated bass parts or drum patterns, the ones that do exist are pulled off with aplomb. And that’s all you can ask for.

So, as a whole, this is an excellent album, only stopped from getting 100% by the lyrics, the lack of originality and the (as of yet unmentioned) god-awful artwork. A recommended purchase for any fan of the genre, and indeed many who aren’t such as myself.