Welcome to Wolf Wednesdays, a segment I literally just invented, where every Wednesday I'll post a review by a band with Wolf in the title. Well, thankfully Wolfbrigade just came out with a new record, and I just got it delivered, so - right on time. Speaking of right on time, Wolfbrigade can be counted on like clockwork every few years to put out a new record, a new record that doesn't sound all that different from their previous ones. It's like the passing of seasons, or changing our clocks: inevitable. For a band that's been pulling it together since 1996, they're nothing if not remarkably consistent.
That said, I had fairly middling expectations for this one - yes, Wolfbrigade is one of my favorite bands, but their last two releases (reviews coming in future Wednesdays) hadn't held my attention like their earlier or even semi-later stuff. So, I was kind of surprised that I liked this new one so much - I am feeling more hints of their earlier material in this one, even back to Wolfpack's A New Dawn Fades and Lycanthro Punk. They are able to weave in their bits of melody - the title track invokes a bit of that "folk metal" melody that we saw on Kallocain on 2017's Run With The Hunted. Born To Rot, track 3, slows the d-beat down just by the slightest bit in a very satisfying way to me. The following song, When Dogs Cry, throws in some more of that folk metal melody. I think their previous two albums were lacking in this manner, which is part of what makes this band so great. I'm glad they've returned to this feature, without overdoing it.
They've decided not to self-produce this one, and also returned to a previous drummer - Dadde Stark, who played on Comalive and Damned is back after 10 years or so. I'm sure those are factors.
I'd be remiss if I didn't make fun of the song titles a bit - Caveman Motherfuck, Cold War Bootlicker, When Dogs Cry, Fat Man Hellscape, Cosmic Meatgrinder (which includes a sweet cymbal "ping" during its little breakdown), Man Is Wolf To Man? Wow. Then again, this is a band with an album called Life Knife Death, so I shouldn't be surprised by the goofy titles. There's also some kind of manifesto on the back. My copy is on silver vinyl. Aren't werewolves supposed to be allergic to silver? Or am I thinking of vampires?
Hard to pick a fav, but I'll go with When Dogs Cry.