WOLFBRIGADE - "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" (2017)

WOLFBRIGADE - "RUN WITH THE HUNTED"
(Running time: 26:51 minutes; 10 songs)
("Southern Lord Recordings"; 2017; CD):

Hey guys, yes, I am back at the regular work up here and so here already now incoming is the first 'really new' post after the (sort of...) 'mandatory' retrospection post on 2017, yes, and so now here you get my record-review on the larger-than-life 2017 masterpiece of/by the absolutely almighty WOLFBRIGADE from Sverige titled "RUN WITH THE HIUNTED", the successor album to/of their 2012 immortal masterpiece "DAMNED" (also released back then via "SOUTHERN LOTRD RECORDINGS"), and it was released at the 28th of april of 2017 and this of course (again) by/through/via "SOUTHERN LORD RECORDINGS". WOLFBRIGADE's "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" features ten new songs in roughly half-an-hour of a total running time, yes, and this would be sort of the only 'critical-point' of it because that's simply not much of a running time anyhow anyway... but WOLFBRIGADE really manage to make up for this with two huge points: (1.) "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" is so massively and 'overwhelmingly' intense that it definitely 'devastatingly' destroys absolutely everything and atomizes de facto everyone in its way in this shortly twenty-seven minutes so that it leaves no questions unanswered and no wishes unfullfilled; (2.) WOLFBRIGADE are simply that incredible damn good, nah, they are that larger-than-life great that this roughly twenty-seven minutes are packed up full with a so high skilled songwriting that beneath the overwhelming intensity and also all the high'n'tight atmosphere, beneath the brutal and yet all the time melodic and diverse massacre an incredible amount of multi-variations and diversity is waiting, enriching and cultivating it all massively and just waiting there to be discovered by all of you outta there. WOLFBRIGADE were founded back then in 1995 as WOLFPACK and they conquered me sort of instantly back then with their massively impressive debut full-length-album "A NEW DAWN FADES" and from then on and on and on and on, all the time, always. In 1999 then they changed from WOLFPACK to WOLFBRIGADE and... continued to conquer me supremely and this also all the time. Their 2012 masterpiece "DAMNED" was (in my book) back then their so far crowning chapter of their impressive career and discography... and now we have 2017 and... nah, sorry, bullshit... we (have) had 2017 and "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" was unleashed at the world, hell yeahr, and I don't know how they did it but they 'at least' hold on to "DAMNED" on the exact same larger-than-life level but I would even go so far to/and say that "RUN WUTH THE HUNTED" even is a step ahead, yes, that totally amazing and absoultely fantastic it is. This is at its core highest intensity Crustcore with some beefy'n'bulky D-Beat roots in it as well as truckloads of devastating (Sverige) Death Metal and just looking at respectively listening to some of the melodic and symphonic guitar leads and also partly because of the nihilistic atmosphere also some Black Metal marks here and there in it, too, yes, and this all done on or from a very, very unique and characteristic stand-alone position with a gigantic and forceful own identity to it all. At a very loose description I would say that if you imagine a very high skilled and 'amazingly' fresh and self-contained and stand-alone mixture out of the glorious old WOLFPACK masterpieces (like "A NEW DAWN FADES", "LYCANTHRO PUNK", and "ALLDAY HELL"), THE EXPLOTED (especially "THE MASSACRE", "BEAT THE BASTARDS", and "FUCK THE SYSTEM"), and DISCHARGE on the one side, yes, and Sverige Death Metal somewhere between AT THE GATES, ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER, and UNLEASHED on the other side, yes, then you do have a pretty good starting description of what to expect of/from WOLFBRIGADE in general and of/from "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" in particular, yes, and fans of the GENOCIDE SUPERSTARS, SKITSYSTEM, and DISFEAR will find here in and with WOLFBRIGADE's "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" surely their new holy grail as well. But with facing that namedropping here and now please keep in mind that WOLFBRIGADE absolutely do their very, very own thing, point and fact. All is done by surely high skilled musicians that/who deliver it all via outstanding songwriting: Forceful, intense, massive, brutal, harsh, stunning, and yet very melodical and also hymnal arranged and 'impressively' playful and soulful, yes, and also beneath the 'surface' of this high-intensity raging massacre it's all very diverse and enriched with fresh ideas and clever subtle enrichments and exciting twists'n'turns all along the ride that grant us 'ongoingly' grapping moments without end that really shine bright and are nothing else but absolutely overwhelming. The same it to say about the all the time incredible sheer exciting and grapping highest intensity and the very intense, tight, and breathtaking atmosphere of all the songs and the whole album. Carried out is this all via razorsharp cutting and sledgehammer-like banging guitars that deliver powerful raging riffing and crushing rhythm work as well as (and especially) stunningly intense and breathtaking atmospheric melody lines and leads'n'solos, yes, and that are marking the songs strongly and heavily and this also for sure for all the right reasons; the pretty much same is to say about the great and very charismatic vokillz that are brutal done 'throaty' shouts that still deliver melodies and anthemic/hymnal lines (verses and Refrains a-like) and that totally (over)shine bright, too. The fast raging and harsh thundering rhythm section then finally tears down every resistance and smashes through everything and everyone, yes, and that's a total wrecking ball going highest skilled to work. The pace of the songs is mostly up-tempo to fast pace but take the time and listen intense and you will find so much exciting and impressive surprises, yes, that will absoultely leave you breathless in all positive ways. My personal favorites? Forget it. The whole damn album is my personal total favorite, period. Strong and thought-provoking lyrics, a great artwork, and a powerful blasting production sound round it all finally up, yes, turning this absolutely into the real deal and the complete package. I know I did this time no real 'ranked list' of 'my top albums of/for 2017' but if I would have done one then WOLFBRIGADE's "RUN WITH THE HUNTED" would be clearly in my top three of/for 2017, yes, and this without a single doubt. I love this band and album. Okay, I think I've said so much all what I had to say so far about WOLFBRIGADE's "RUN WITH THE HUNTED", yes, and everyone into Crustcore, D-Beat, really hard Punk and Hardcore (Punk) musick, and (Sverige) Death Metal (that's slightly blackened) simply definitely and desperately needs to have this absolutely mindblowing and breathtaking surely larger-than-life masterpiece and this (in case you really should not have or even know it) best 'yesterday than today', if you get what I mean. Anyhow, my last words: Get it!!!

(10 of 10 points)

https://wolfbrigadeofficial.wordpress.com/ (-the link to the sort of homepage of the band)

WOLFBRIGADE - "KALLOCAIN" (2017, "RUN WITH THE HUNTED")

DISCHARGE - "END OF DAYS" (2016)

DISCHARGE - "END OF DAYS"
(Running time: 33:47 minutes; 15 songs)
("Nuclear Blast Records"; 2016; CD):

Okay, after August turned out to be sort of an un-official Rock/Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Metal month up here and in September only came one post/review up here, also Blues/Rock, and the two posts/reviews of this current month, October, so far were also Rock and Metal I really felt like it's time to bring some violence back up here, finally again, and before finally more Oi!, Punkrock, Hardcore, and Streetpunk albums (beside also some great Death Metal and Death Core stuff + also a big bunch of reviews on current releases that I so far used to hold back... because last month was anyhow planned to be at least a bit more active up here then... anyway...) will come up here, review-wise, we will now have a close look on and some even closer listens in(to) the so far still current album of the godfathers of Crust/Crustcore/D-Beat and I am talking 'bout DISCHARGE's "END OF DAYS" from 2016 released via the german "NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS" label. I love Crust/Crustcore/D-Beat, once it was sort of one of my most favorite music styles outta there (and I still simply "just" love it), after I grew into it through my (strong-ongoing) love-love-relationship with (especially british) Hardcore Punk like for example THE EXPLOITED, G.B.H., CHAOS U.K. or THE VARUKERS; and from this heroes and legends the step to DISCHARGE, as my first Crust/Crustcore/D-Beat band ever, was (and still is) a very close and short one. So when last year "END OF DAYS" was (finally) released it was pretty clear for me that I definitely would need to have DISCHARGE newest offspring in my collection. Yes, and so I did. And now we have 2017 and finally we sit here, yes, right now I am writing this review, a bit later or sort of you will (finally be able to) read it; so, yes, now more than enough of the introducing smalltalk and now finally straight into the action, yes, and so here we go: DISCHARGE are back and they fire out of all barrels, "END OF DAYS" kicks off with the über-hit "NEW WORLD ORDER" followed by the evil slasher "RAPED AND PILLAGED" and the two harsh Crust/Crustcore/D-Beat sledgehammers "END OF DAYS" (a.k.a. the title-track) and "THE BROKEN LAW" and both tracks conquer in a supreme and total way  with stunning energy and pissed off honest aggression as well as catchy lead guitars and huge sing-a-long potential. A great start for the "END OF DAYS". DISCHARGE surely don't invent anything new with "END OF DAYS" but who could or would or should have expected this, come on, because I mean Crust/Crustcore/D-Beat is sort of a pretty strict defined sub-genre of Hardcore and Punk and DISCHARGE pretty much sort of invented it all, so yes, but we all could expect that DISCHARGE deliver and deliver the goods and that they succeed in breathing "ongoingly" new life, fresh air, and pure energy into this beloved intense kind of musick - and so they do/did with "END OF DAYS". Dustdry shredding and bonecracking heavy guitars push the songs "mercylessly" forward, pure energy and harsh raging dynamics, all the time delivering skullsmashing riffs and grooves and all sort of without end but also shine with great "up-freshing" leads and very strong solos, hell yeah', the guitars really hammer the songs into our heads and are definitely a very strong trademark of DISCHARGE's "END OF DAYS"; and this for all the right reasons. The pissed off and powerful shouted and yet surprisingly and "refreshingly" very clear and clean delivered vokillz then are the next strong trademark of this slashing album, very charismatic and forceful and delivering also great sing-a-long parts that really shine in this brutal musick cocktail. The ass-tight rhythm section, damn precise and incredible to the point played, then adds the mighty punch that's definitely needed to really push this kind of musick forward and trust me, oh hell yeahr, when I say that there are no prisoners being taken. Any fan of THE EXPLOITED, TOTAL CHAOS, DISCHARGE, DISGUST, SKIT SYSTEM, GENOCIDE SS, etc. pp. definitely will love "END OF DAYS", point and fact, and MOTÖRHEAD and THE HOOKERS fans who are also into very heavy Punk should also give it a good round. The songwriting is very strong, offering nice little-big twists and turns along the ride and shining with some cool fesh ideas like for example a pretty strong focus on melodic song arrangements (like for example in the riffing department) and very catchy, melodic solos, and a strong dirty Rock & Roll approach to it all, and not to forget the very anthemic/hymnal character of the very most of the songs on "END OF DAYS". And all is delivered by skilled musicians with a lot of heart, soul, and passion, and with so much fresh energy and an authentic attitude so that DISCHARGE's "END OF DAYS" is a totally relevant and up-to-date record and in no way a lame, stale, "retroish" album that's trying to recatch some old glory done by old farts, hell no, this is a brutal sledgehammer straight smashing into your damn face leaving it a bloody mess, a wake up call, an alarm bell ringing, in short: This is CRUSTCORE, period. Surely not all songs shine in gold, but also surely the most of them. Militant and pissed off, critical and aggressive, left-winged and mostly very strong'n'good lyrics, a cool sinister artwork, and a hard and heavy yet very clear and transparent production sound then finally round it all up in an all positive way. So all in all this is clearly recommended by me to/for you, yes, and so if you really still don't have or know it you should definitely finally change this and get your damn hands on it and then play it damn fucking loud. Because you know, I don't always listen to Crustcore, but when I do so do my neighbours.

(8,5 of 10 Points)

http://thenightmarecontinues.yolasite.com/ (-the link to the homepage of the band, check it out)

DISCHARGE - "NEW WORLD ORDER" (2016, "END OF DAYS")