In their past incarnation Wölfrider was known as Clairvoyant. They were pirating in high seas like Running Wild. Surely they had other influences, too. However, their vocalist was lost in some village raid, they got a new one, and also changed their name. Wölfrider's mission is the same: To keep true heavy metal living.
Just like Clairvoyant's last release, 'Curse of the Golden Skull' EP from 2011, this self-titled demo carries four songs. The opener 'Holy Knights' starts pretty Iron Maiden-ish; infectious Adriam Smith-esque lead guitar melody and pounding bass guitar. Heck, the guitar solos are like Dave Murray and Smith duelling! The song also contains some heavier riffing to drive it to other grounds, too. The song slice takes its course to Germany, starting like Gamma Ray, and then hitting that Running Wild stride. I'm not saying "nay" to multiple guitar solos which happen at different parts of the song. 'Rise of NWO' brings a nice change to two more pushy songs, as it begins with rather epic bit, and then calming down a bit, before hitting determined gallop, offering some sturdy riffing as well as open-stringed ambiance. Guitar solo galore, here! Not forgetting some bass guitar soloing... The title track is full-on Running Wild worshipping.
Generally, the songwriting is better than on that Clairvoyant EP, because the songs are far more memorable, but still not bland and repetitive. There's nothing new to be found here, for sure, because it's about true heavy metal. It totally depends on a listener's tastes towards this age-old genre, that simply will not die. Thankfully.
The drumming and bass playing are both fantastic to listen to. Both skillful and powerful. The rhythm section is, in a word, strong. This is boosted by great production work, keeping it heavy yet nicely separate. Two things that make heavy metal production work, in my opinion. Listen loud! Well, the same goes with guitar playing. It's great to listen to two lead guitarists here, reinforcing each other. Another great thing with instrumental delivery is that it's sparkling, with small tricks flying in the air almost all the time. But it's not showy, it's just rock-solid.
One thing I do not like here is the new vocalist. His voice simply isn't strong on any of registers he operates in, meaning middle and high-pitched areas. He's not a good singer, either, and his pronunciation isn't very good. Practice might work wonders. However, he is pretty characteristic with his voice, and this matters a lot. It's hard to compare him to any established heavy metal vocalist, but he's not like an outsider to this style. I have to admit, that I'm getting used to his voice after tens of spins of this demo.
Wölfrider's emergence is certainly rather professional. It has its highs and lows, but it is still shoulders, but not heads above many, many contenders. It's energetic good-time heavy metal (both fist and smile raising stuff), and definitely not a bad showcase for the future. Well, they already got signed, so that says a lot, right?
Reviewed by Lane
07/02/2014 19:41
