For those who don't know, Death Wolf (hereafter referred to as DW in order to conserve space and avoid confusion) is the side project of Marduk mastermind Morgan Håkansson. It originally went by a different name, Devil's Whorehouse, but with this new release came a new name...and well it should. While the previous DW releases were almost entirely Danzig/Misfits/Samhain covers, this new album is all original material.
Previous DW albums (being what they were) did include some songs that were fairly cheesy (and while I love the song, I have to admit that the lyrics to the DW original song, Bondage Goddess, are pretty cheesy). Well, there is no cheddar on this album! There are no cheesy lyrics, the guitar solos are well crafted, and the vocals fit the songs like a glove. It's 12 songs of Doomy cohesion. While all the songs are recognizable as being created by the previous incarnations of DW, and there are a couple songs that are reminiscent of past DW albums, they all have a new feel.
Interestingly enough though, the chorus of the first song on the album, Circle of Abomination, sounds somewhat Slayer-esque (back when Slayer were actually worth listening to) and the guitar solo at the end of that song sounds a bit like Arch Enemy. But that's not to say that the songs are derivative, because, regardless of what comparisons they may invoke, you know you are listening to DW. In fact, while the vocals on past records have sounded a lot like Glenn Danzig (intentionally, I'm sure), the vocals on this album are much more individual. Sure Maelstrom still has that Danzig quality to his voice, but that's just the way his voice sounds, it's not like he's doing it just to sound like Danzig.
As befitting a Doomy "horror-rock" album there is a good selection of mid-range and slow tempo songs with only one fast one (and if you know Morgan's work then this might surprise you; as you know, he is obsessed with speed). In fact, the fastest song on the whole album is the one that ends it...and when I say ends, I mean ends. Dawn Of Flesh ends very abruptly; almost jarringly so. But it was clearly intentional, and not just some bizarre accident.
I do love all the songs on the album, but my favorites are Circle of Abomination (Track 1), Wolfs Pallid Sister (Track 7), and Coming Forth By Night (Track 11).
Overall I have to give it a perfect 10, and yeeeeesssss, despite my love affair with Morgan's music I was being objective. I just couldn't honestly find anything wrong with this album. The only thing I did have a problem with, was the lack of lyrics in the booklet...
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