Finally there is a new record from WOLFHEART. I can’t lie to you, WOLFHEART is definitely one of my favorite bands in the Melodic Death Metal genre, so I was really looking forward to the new album with new guitarist Vagelis Karzis.
In many of the new tracks he shows what he can do, like on “Desolated Land” or “Cold Flame” feat. KARL SANDERS (NILE). Then it gets really epic with “The King”. There, in addition to melodic riffs and a fixed solo, there are also wind instruments and orchestra out of the can.
“Cold Flame” is definitely my favorite song on the record. It’s really strong right from the start and stays that way until the end. Here the guitars are in the foreground and the riffs carry the entire song. There are also fast beats from the drums and the clean backing vocals sometimes stay where they belong. In addition there is a nice bridge, in which everyone freaks out once more – the track simply has power!
But also “Fires Of The Fallen” is a faster track with lots of nice riffs and an epic chorus. Here the vocals of Tuomas and Lauri harmonize very catchy and the clear singing is not too obtrusive. That’s how I like WOLFHEART! In general, the entire record is much more epic than it was the case with the last few albums. So there are more and more orchestras and similar sounds. The one-man-in-the-studio charm is disappearing more and more for the professional appearance. I like both very much!
Conclusion: Clear vocals somehow still don’t quite fit the sound of WOLFHEART and sounds too softened to me, which is why I didn’t find some tracks like the song with JESSE LEACH (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) or “Eternal Slumber” that great. “Knell” was also a bit too sluggish and long-winded for me.
But otherwise I like “King Of The North” very much! Finally there is more banging instrumentally and still a lot of melancholic piano banging – the songs somehow have more punch overall and the structures have become even more complex. But this clearly shows a development at WOLFHEART and it is definitely going in a positive direction!
