{"id":66559,"date":"2018-01-19T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=66559"},"modified":"2018-02-24T18:48:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-24T18:48:14","slug":"album-review-wolftooth-wolftooth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-wolftooth-wolftooth\/","title":{"rendered":"WOLFTOOTH – Wolftooth (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

WOLFTOOTH
Wolftooth<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSelf-released (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

A good slice of album cover art conceals what is essentially another \u201cstoner\u201d record from a band that hails from Indiana. This self-titled full-length opus brings a nice, smooth rumble of a sound best described as somewhere between the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath<\/a> and, say, The Sword.<\/p>\n

Where I may be keen to criticize what has become an all too sickening trend, Wolftooth\u2019s debut actually makes for a rather comfortable, stress-free listen. Maybe it\u2019s the almost earthy feel of proceedings, as the combo bring together an almost early Ozzy Osbourne style of mesmeric quality mixed with the rustier strains of Angel Witch.<\/p>\n

Nope, it\u2019s not doom metal, but there is that Gothic air \u2013 particularly with opener \u2018Blackbird\u2019s Call\u2019 which drifts along at a nice pace and presents us with an Ozzy-styled lazy groan vocally, courtesy of guitarist Chris Sullivan, amidst that juddering riffage.<\/p>\n

But whereas some stoner rock seems forced or all too occult obsessed, Wolftooth\u2019s album is so laid back that one can\u2019t help but become drugged by its presence. The dual guitar adds extra thickness to the likes of \u2018Aegaeon\u2019; a rather hypnotic psych-rock journey through cascading drums and Sullivan\u2019s soaring tones.<\/p>\n

\u2018White Mountain\u2019 continues that almost ethereal theme; a wondrous haze of a tune built upon a buzzing Sabbath drone. It\u2019s the sort of track that wouldn\u2019t seem out of place on some late 60s psych-rock festival bill. However, the faster segments which roll out of the smog are very welcome, especially on the galloping thunder that is \u2018Frost Lord\u2019.<\/p>\n

My main issue with this record, however, is that Sullivan\u2019s vocals seem swallowed in the mix. Or maybe he just doesn\u2019t cut the mustard when it comes to making his presence felt? For me, I want to hear a vocalist make a statement within a genre that is becoming all too crammed with similar-sounding bands. So while Sullivan\u2019s voice seems to soar at times, in other moments it offers so little to the track as the rest of the band seem to march on without him.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Huntress\u2019 is another good slab of retro-rock. Again, there\u2019s that energetic gallop to mark its entrance as the chords whine, but not with sorrow, before the combo lunges into a jabbing prod.<\/p>\n

For me, the album\u2019s highlight is the bluesy \u2018Season Of The Witch\u2019, and it\u2019s here that Sullivan comes into his own; his almost no frills and slightly mournful wail threads nicely through those chugging riffs and that nodding drum jab. But I still think it\u2019s a song that would have benefitted from a more convincing vocal sneer. Sullivan just seems bereft of any other emotion, and that\u2019s a shame because Wolftooth are a good band with some real potential.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s summed up by the murky traits of closer \u2018Forged In Fire\u2019 with its dark, foreboding intro created by Johnny Harrod\u2019s killer drum tirade. Again though, Sullivan has no commanding presence, and as the outfit lumbers into another big Sabbath-esque groove I\u2019m almost left crying out for some extra conviction in that vocal \u2013 instead we get a rather watery yowl. Maybe it\u2019s just me and my issues with the stoner rock generation?<\/p>\n

Wolftooth do<\/em> show signs of being a behemoth of a band, but something is clearly missing from their framework. That being said, it\u2019s still a record that should appeal to the black masses.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WOLFTOOTHWolftooth Self-released (2018)Rating: 7\/10 A good slice of album cover art conceals what is essentially another \u201cstoner\u201d record from a band that hails from Indiana. This self-titled full-length opus brings a nice, smooth rumble of a sound best described as somewhere between the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath and, say, The Sword. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3854],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-wolftooth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66559"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66562,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66559\/revisions\/66562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}