For those who hold music as dear to their hearts and their being as much as I’m sure you, the reader do, there is nothing quite like that discovery of a new band, perhaps out of nowhere, that captures so much about what you love in music. That feeling of finding a band in their early stages that stays with you, that smashes it out of the park, perhaps on the first try, and that both excites you so much and that you feel may break out in time to come. Ladies and gentleman; Wolf King may just well be that band for you.
On debut full length Loyal To The Soil (Prosthetic), Wolf King has delivered a masterstroke of an opening statement; sounding both utterly feral and intense in a way their youth would suggest but complete with a densely packed arsenal that takes cues from an array of heavy styles in a way that never feels contrived.
Tagged as a blackened Hardcore band, Loyal To The Soil has a lot more going on for it and gives a richer depth than may first appear. Album opener ‘Hail The Ash’ begins with a brooding and menacing build before it erupts into piercing, Black Metal blasting savagery; alternating between this and in bouncy but heavy breakdown based Hardcore, with Tim Wilson suitably matching throughout with emotive shrieks and barks. This perfectly encapsulates how well Wolf King has blended both elements of this sound as opposed to merely shoehorning some aspect in the other.
Along the way there are also further signs of a wide palette, from the crawling sludge of ‘Loyal To The Soil II’ to the D-Beat frenzy of ‘Greater Power’; there is a surprising level of diversity which could have easily become an audible mess overall. Yet Wolf King pull it all off so well and so confidently that its hard to believe this is a debut. Loyal To The Soil is a striking and powerful statement that gives both a sense of immediacy with a hidden level of versatility throughout; in a way that many more experienced acts would fail to pull off. Top all this off with what are simply some incredibly catchy and strong songs, and Wolf King is a truly exciting prospect, both in the fact that their debut is utterly killer, and that surely their potential is limitless. This is a release that will appeal to almost anyone with a penchant for heavy and/or fast music, and should not be missed.
8.0/10
CHRIS TIPPELL