The gang’s all here…..
The supergroup, you know, is dead. It was all soooo 1970’s. The greats of the era joining together to form a brilliant new thing.
These days it’s all about ensembles. Avantasia re-wrote the rule book on this, and along come Wolfpakk to carry it on.
The cast list on this – their fourth record in six years – is downright spectacular. Joining main men Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) and Michael Voss (Mad Max, Michael Schenker) are (and to avoid this being a list instead of a review we’ll just mention some of the singers and guitarists) Biff Byford (Saxon), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Tony Harnell (TNT), Oliver Hartmann (Avantasia),Jioti Parcharidis (Victory), Steve Grimmett (Grim Reaper), Pasi Rantanen(Thunderstone), Danny Vaughn (Tyketto), Andy Lickford (Lickford)Timo Somers (Delain), Brad Gillis (Night Ranger), George Lynch (exDokken), Jen Majura (Evanescence) and ChrisHolmes (ex-W.A.S.P.)
The biggest compliment you can possibly pay the record is to say this: it lives up to its cast – and then some.
Staying just metal enough not to be out and out bombast, the opener “Falling” is the kind of clenched fist stuff that is all over this, “Run All Night” sees ex Malmsteen singer Michael Vescera at his very, very best and “Blood Brothers” sees Biff Byford play the part of Biff Byford as only he can.
That trio is, in microcosm, what Wolfpakk do. There is nothing out of place here. The title track boasts an opening riff so huge it could crush buildings “No Remorse” is parping euro power metal done right – and Oliver Hartmannn channels some kind of Bob Catley vocals, even if the Magnum frontman isn’t here.
Elsewhere “Inside The Animal Mind” is clearly aware of the debt it owes to 1980’s rock and is the type of fist pumper that would have filled the arenas of that period, while Grimmett adds a real sense of foreboding to “Scream Of The Hawk.”
This type of album wouldn’t be complete without a track that is choc-a-bloc full of grandiosity. It gets one in the shape of “The 10 Commandments” as Thunderstone’s Pasi Rantanen hams it right up.
There’s even a genuine, no fooling epic too, with the plaintive cry for the environment of “Mother Earth” and the piano led “Tomorrowland” is perfect for the voice of Danny Vaughn.
In many respects this quite superb collection brings itself back full circle at its conclusion, as “I’m Onto You” is the same type of unashamed metal that “Wolves Reign” began with.
That in itself is an interesting insight into what makes this record so rare. A work with this many people making it could have sounded like a collection of singles. This doesn’t. It sounds like a cohesive album. And a very, very good one at that.
Rating 8.5/10
