CD review WOLF ‘Feeding the Machine’

Wolf is one of the longterm companions in traditional Heavy Metal. A founding date in 1995 and eight longplayers are more than an indication that the quartet belongs to the spearhead of bands that brought Heavy metal back on stage in a time when Grunge and Nu Metal dominated the scene.

It became a bit silence about Wolf during the last years with the latest longplayer, ‘Devil Seed’, having been released in 2014. Line-up changes have been for sure one reason why the new album took some time to grow. Pontus Egberg (b) and Johan Koleberg (d) joined the band in 2019, being a refreshing element for the veteran-band and having them on board means that work on ‘Feeding the Machine’ could start.

‘Feeding the Machine’ comes with 12 songs, all of them reflecting traditional Heavy Metal in a great fashion. Equipped with an overarching oldschool vibe the longplayer still sounds modern and dust-free. Sometimes the quartet reminds of bands like Metal Church (‘Feeding the Machine’ ) while songs like ‘The Cold Emptiness’ spread a dark and chilly atmosphere.

But Wolf can also push the pedal with shifting gears. The opener ‘Shoot to Kill’ is such an uptempo Metal hymn, well-crafted and a challenger of neck-muscles.

It’s a good thing to have Wolf back after 6 years of absence. ‘Feeding the Machine’ features songs that all have a punch. Traditional Heavy Metal, transformed into the ’20s should sound exactly like what you get with this album. Good stuff.