Wolfcry - Nightbreed
Black Lotus Records - BLR/CD052 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Greek traditional heavy metal band Wolfcry return with their second album - which may seem like a rather unproductive, since they formed in 1992 immediately after the demise of drummer Andreas "The Wizard"'s former band Vanguard! Apparently though, they've had a lot of line-up problems, so we'll let them off for now. So, how does the album sound? Well, it's 80s styled heavy metal with a smattering of modern melodic power metal influence throughout, so the most obvious reference points are Hammerfall, Iced Earth, Rage, Judas Priest and Saxon.
If your leather pants are already dampening after reading that last sentence, then comb back your mullet and prepare to be heartily rocked, for if you're after a good old-school headbanging album, you're in for a treat. The riffage is top notch, the mid-to-fast-tempo pace of the songs tailor made for neck-snapping frenzies and the choruses custom-built for drunken rabbles to sing along with. Occasionally melodicism can overtake the punch of the songs somewhat (for example, third track 'Screamin' Whispers' suffers a little for an excess of twiddly bits and vocalist Costas Hatzigeorgiou's impromptu delusions of being James LaBrie in the chorus), but in general this is effective stuff.
Utterly and totally unoriginal of course, but that pretty much goes without saying in this style of metal - and at least Wolfcry have the advantage over 90% of bands of their ilk that they have the tunes to justify their existence. This is convincingly done, expertly written and performed, and wrapped in a nice clear production that lets you appreciate the tightness and virtuosity of the musicians. The only question is whether the world really needs another band like this - but if you're one of the legions of die-hard 80s metal fans, you'll probably already know the answer to that question.
7.5/10
Wolfcry's Official Website
Black Lotus Records Website
Black Lotus Records - BLR/CD052 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
Greek traditional heavy metal band Wolfcry return with their second album - which may seem like a rather unproductive, since they formed in 1992 immediately after the demise of drummer Andreas "The Wizard"'s former band Vanguard! Apparently though, they've had a lot of line-up problems, so we'll let them off for now. So, how does the album sound? Well, it's 80s styled heavy metal with a smattering of modern melodic power metal influence throughout, so the most obvious reference points are Hammerfall, Iced Earth, Rage, Judas Priest and Saxon.
If your leather pants are already dampening after reading that last sentence, then comb back your mullet and prepare to be heartily rocked, for if you're after a good old-school headbanging album, you're in for a treat. The riffage is top notch, the mid-to-fast-tempo pace of the songs tailor made for neck-snapping frenzies and the choruses custom-built for drunken rabbles to sing along with. Occasionally melodicism can overtake the punch of the songs somewhat (for example, third track 'Screamin' Whispers' suffers a little for an excess of twiddly bits and vocalist Costas Hatzigeorgiou's impromptu delusions of being James LaBrie in the chorus), but in general this is effective stuff.
Utterly and totally unoriginal of course, but that pretty much goes without saying in this style of metal - and at least Wolfcry have the advantage over 90% of bands of their ilk that they have the tunes to justify their existence. This is convincingly done, expertly written and performed, and wrapped in a nice clear production that lets you appreciate the tightness and virtuosity of the musicians. The only question is whether the world really needs another band like this - but if you're one of the legions of die-hard 80s metal fans, you'll probably already know the answer to that question.
7.5/10
Wolfcry's Official Website
Black Lotus Records Website
