Wolfbrigade "In Darkness You Feel No Regrets" CD
[Feral Ward]
I'll assume everyone knows the basics here (they're from Sweden, they used to be called Wolfpack, etc.) and get right into it. First things first, from a songwriting standpoint this is a lot better than "Progression/Regression" because it's not so one-sided and similar to what the band has done in the past. It still has that driving Scandinavian hardcore edge with the crusty influences and such, but there's more dissonant melody involved, as well as some unexpected little twists (check out the weird little clean break in "The Awakening"). However, the recording is still suffering from enough problems to really hold the material back somehow. Before even popping the disc in I noticed that they had recorded at Sunlight Studio, so I was fully anticipating a record that would just sound totally crushing. Well, not so much. The guitars definitely have a cool texture to 'em, but the drums are slightly flimsy, and the instruments don't form a cohesive wall of sound. There's a big gap in the center, and everything sort of skirts around that. Some nice bass right in the middle would likely help out, but I definitely think the drums and guitars need a little tweaking as well. It's a shame, if these songs had a sound similar to the latest Kontrovers record or something... I can't even imagine how fucking awesome it would be. But I can get past that for the most part. There's definitely a "What if...?" factor here, and I know this is a good record that could be an amazing record, but fuck it - there are some raging tracks here. "Papercuts" is a masterpiece that's both more punk and more metal, blending a catchy framework with some thrashier riffing and an Entombed-esque lead break; "Outlaw Vagabond" rolls along at the perfect pace with a great mix of extreme heaviness and melodic undercurrents; "Gunhead Battalion" barely tops a minute and shreds straight through (letting the guitar tone really flirt with the classic "Sunlight sound"); and they end off with a cover of "Say Goodbye" by Poison Idea. Visually this looks similar to the band's last full-length, using a sepia toned photo of a desolate landscape, and a simplistic, clean presentation of the lyrics and such. The lyrics are mostly in English with a handful of Swedish tracks, and the content hits mostly on the usual topics of racism, war, drug abuse, and things of that nature, often hitting on the topics from a larger perspective of the negativity surrounding the issues. "And in light you perish, one horizon sought, Repress their passion - yours is given up, A shallow pool of thought dictates the life you wrought, Bury your heart and be guided..." In the end I'm absolutely pleased to hear the band's songwriting taking a bit of a turn and moving in a stronger direction that has more variety to offer... so if they can only get their act together working out tones in the studio they'll be an unstoppable force. (7/10)
Running time - 31:20, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Papercuts, Outlaw Vagabond, How Will You Find Your Peace, Avgrundens Kant]
Feral Ward - http://www.feralward.com

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