Century Media
2009
Ravenous
About This Album
Swedish heavy metal purists Wolf jettisoned fully half of their lineup (including longtime bassist Mikael Goding) prior to recording their fifth album, 2009's Ravenous, but fans need not have worried (and indeed, they really didn't worry) that this would affect the nature of the band's "classic" sound, so long as founding vocalist, guitarist, and de facto leader, Niklas Stålvind, remained at the helm -- which he does. Nevertheless, with any measure of change come changing perspectives, and the increased songwriting contributions of recently acquired co-lead guitarist Johannes Losbäck (in his second outing with Wolf), not to mention the hire of producer Roy Z, sparked a healthy six-string relay race that made Ravenous the band's most guitar-centric project yet. Redundant as such a claim may seem when applied to any heavy metal band, knowledgeable enthusiasts of the genre will readily recognize it as fact once the galloping riffs and dueling harmonies of opener "Speed On" inaugurate the album's battle of the axes. This proceeds apace over irresistible head-banging highlights like the Pharaonic (i.e. Iron Maiden/Powerslave) "Curse You Salem," the alternately doomy riffs and choppy staccatos of "Hiding in Shadows," and the sheer majesty of closer "Blood Angel," which features "Diary of a Madman"-like acoustic guitars from Roy Z.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,5,6 and 7)

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