Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Wolfchant > Determined Damnation > Reviews
Wolfchant - Determined Damnation

Wolfchant - Determined Damnation - 60%

ThrashManiacAYD, April 30th, 2010

Folkified paganised metal is all the rage these days, with Germans Wolfchant being one of many striving to make it into the big league and get those much vaunted festival spots, when we all know that under the summer sun and with our bodies full of beer such a kind music never fails to hit the spot. Here on their third album, "Determined Damnation", Wolfchant have made a pretty good attempt at honing their Ensiferum, Turisas and oddly, In Flames, influences into a coherent and largely enjoyable record.

At 61 minutes and 13 songs of a similar mid-length territory after the obligatory introduction Wolfchant could do with trimming the package a little and focusing more on inter-song variation as the feeling of having heard it before becomes too hard to ignore come the end. However this doesn't stop "Until The End", “Never Too Drunk” and the title track from reveling in singalong status where the growled vocal melodies intertwine nicely with the leading guitar (which we'll let off for sounding slightly out of key, heh?). Of the A List bands Ensiferum are the strongest comparator, due mainly to the frequent usage of well-worked choral vocal sections, but don't read that as an exact soundalike; the likes of Black Messiah and Varg in the lower leagues are Wolfchant's brothers in style and substance, all mere numbers helping bolster the strong folk metal scene of today.

Note too must be made of the band's daring usage of the EXACT same "Raining Blood" riff in the opening to "Kein Engel Hört Dich Flehen", mainly for giving me no lack of amusement. Any bands reading this: if you're going to plagiarise, better off not doing it with one of metal's all-time classic riffs! The safe production job and lack of any virtuoso riffs do severely hamper the band's ability to sound unique in any way, but on the whole "Determined Damnation" is no bad album and one that will at least earn a future spin where the moment calls for a jig and a drink in the sun.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

Wolfchant - Determined damnation - 70%

Radagast, December 18th, 2009

This is the sort of music that would, if the band responsible came from a few hundred miles to the north, be called viking/folk metal, but ends up instead with the prefix ‘pagan’ despite the obvious similarities in style with their Nordic contemporaries.

Genre Police moaning aside, Wolfchant are a German band that play the folk-melodic death style championed by the likes of Ensiferum and Falchion, and do a pretty fine job of it too. ‘Determined damnation’ is their 3rd full-length and a very ambitious effort with plenty going in its favour. There are sadly also a few down points that weaken the CD and just keep the band from reaching their lofty goals on this attempt.

But I suppose it’s only proper to begin with the good news, and there is thankfully quite a bit of it to go around. A couple of dismal tracks aside, the music is always good to great – anyone familiar with this side of the genre will be unsurprised but doubtlessly impressed by the heroic guitar melodies and the chilling soundscapes tied in with the swords-and-ice lyrics.

Uwe Lulis is in the producer’s chair, and one of the strongest sells on the CD comes as an indirect result; his Rebellion bandmate Michael Seifert has been roped in to add his stunning vocals to the mix, and he elevates the 4 songs where he faces off with frontman Lokhi with startling results.

Lokhi’s vocals are in truth quite limited – he can’t hold notes for very long, and his growls are stuttering and don’t flow and roll like the best singers in his style – so bringing in a powerhouse like Seifert was a very shrewd move that adds crucial variety and extra emotion at key points on the CD. His sudden appearance for a battling duet in the 2nd half of opener “World in ice” blindsided me at least on first listen and suddenly seemed to open the CD up to something much grander than what I had been expecting.

The guest star may steal a bit of the spotlight, but of course the band have to be up to scratch too and on the majestic title track “Determined damnation” it all comes together quite perfectly. The dread, ominous intro sets the tone of foreboding melancholy, and the huge, bitter chorus is nothing short of spectacular. Seifert does run the show, his voice almost unbelievable to behold, but Lokhi’s contribution is crucial, punctuating the operatic baritone with carefully worked precision.

For the most part they also manage to get on fine on their own, as galloping battle cries like “A raven’s flight” and “In war” really hit the spot. Not everything they do is spectacular, and sometimes the lack of originality becomes a little too obvious, but generally speaking Wolfchant really seem to be on the right path. This makes it all the more puzzling when the CD suddenly threatens to completely derail with a couple of serious misfires towards the conclusion.

“Never too drunk” starts promisingly with a playful acoustic-played melody, but soon drives it into the ground with the living nightmare of a chorus, the same tune used to interminably repeat the simplistic thing over and over again to truly obnoxious effect. It sounds like a cack-handled attempt to marry together the sort of endlessly repetitive choruses Korpiklaani have used in some of their ‘drinking songs’ with the more serious nature of Wolfchant’s own style, and it fails with predictably disastrous results.

The song that immediately follows, “Schwerter der erde”, is another head-scratcher, the recurring slow, grooving riff completely out of place and seriously threatening to kill the momentum altogether. They thankfully get their act together quickly, and finish the CD on a high with the closing “Under the wolves banner”. The thunderous symphonic intro leads the way for Seifert’s triumphant return on a sweeping chorus that wraps things up flawlessly.

The glaring failures of ‘Determined damnation’ are pretty infuriating when the overall quality shows up just how needless they were. It still comes with a sound recommendation as 9 of the 11 full songs are striking examples of viking/pagan/whatever metal that are bound to please fans of the style, but the nagging question of what could have been hangs over all it all like the hammer of Thor. Wolfchant have almost everything in their locker – though a permanent clean vocalist wouldn’t hurt – but need to keep their eye on the ball next time round to avoid any more alarming slip ups.

(Originally written for http://www.metalcdratings.com/)

Pagan party metal, I'll bring the cider - 70%

autothrall, November 10th, 2009

I must admit I've not been a fan of this band's previous output; the previous albums were average at best and I made a mental note that this might be another of the million bands posing out in the forest with paint smeared over them and weapons they purchased at some folk or renaissance faire. Avast, thar be pagans! However, this third album Determined Damnation deserves a fair shake as its a catchy enough slab of dirty folk tinged black metal which often borders on the glorious aspects of melodic death.

The majority of the tracks here are of that 'charge' variety, carried by the barking vocals of Lokhi and the majestic guitar lines, while the rhythm section batters away. If you found yourself standing at one of the band's gigs, these tracks would no doubt have you swilling your honeyhorn and shaking your fist. This is the case for the first few tracks like "World in Ice" and "Until the End". The band also has a darker, more serious edge, as that present in the title track. During the chorus, the snarls are joined by clean and manly backing vocals, for a second it reminded me of a Grave Digger chorus (and that's a positive thing). There are a few pure folkish parts like the intro track "Determination Begins" or the opening of "In War". Though this isn't a band to fuck around much, the track "Never Too Drunk" may come off a little cheesy in the midst of the more interesting fare. The music to this song is quite nice, but the lyrics, well...

Determined Damnation breaks no molds and it honestly does not stand out much from many of the cliched bands out on the party pagan metal scene, but it's superior to the previous Wolfchant albums and I found myself enjoying it, for the most part. The band is best when it's delivering darker rhythms like "In War" and the title track. If you're into similar bands like Finntroll, Helfahrt, Heidevolk or Asmegin, they are worth a listen.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Avoid - 35%

Aetheraeon, June 18th, 2009

If there ever is one sub-genre of metal that is prone to seeing a slew of terribly under-average albums released, that still get picked up by a lot of people without any questions asked and that are still seen by a bunch of preteens as the best thing since sliced bread, it will have to be folk metal. Of course, there are some gems in this genre as much as in any other, but the shitheap you would have to wade through to find it is just that much higher than anywhere else. For this year, it will probably be Wolfchant's latest effort that will take the cake for being the least enjoyable and most uninspired.

You have to hand it to Germany's Wolfchant, though. If you can make money by releasing third-rate drivel like this, then you are probably doing something right. “Oh, but kind reviewer, we hardly make enough money to sustain ourselves,” I can already hear them saying. “Good,” would be my response, “because that is all you deserve.” Songs about swords and fighting and drinking beer are fun and all, but when they are presented as childishly as they are on this album there is no other response than smacking your forehead with your right hand and turning off your CD player with the left. Bouncy music has never really been my thing and that is practically all that there is to be found on “Determined Damnation.” And the very worst part is that they even had the nerve to use electronic hand claps in one of the songs. Seriously, hand claps can be fun and kooky, but at least take the time to record actual people clapping their hands... It is almost so bad that it would have made me cry, if I had not seen it coming from miles away. Maybe there are some good moments here and there, but it's nearly impossible to sift through all the shit just to enjoy those few brief moments where Wolfchant do create something that's worth listening to.

I wish I could have been a bit more detailed in this review and maybe there could have been some more information about the music, but it is terribly difficult to write something inspired based on something this devoid of anything interesting. It is like asking an art critic to write about 5-year-old brother's finger painting. Avoid.