Review Summary: Wolf are back with a bite.. of a shark
I've watched Wolf live back in 2013 without knowing who they were and I haven't stop listening to them since. I already made a review about their "Ravenous" album and after a couple of listens to this bad boy I felt the urge to do it again.
I expected nothing less than a full-hearted heavy metal album full of nasty riffs and Niklas and his gang did not fail me. I already knew that it wouldn't be something new in the genre, but that's what these guys are all about
: delivering "Real metal for true bastards" as they nicely put it. What's cool about this band is their obvious love of NWOBHM delivered through their music without sounding like a group of fanboys who can't escape the bands they listen to. The Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden is still there along with the distinct Wolf sound.
There's some great guitarmanship with the very befitting voice of Niklas Stalvind in here, accompanied by obscure (and sometimes ridiculous) lyrics like "Shark Attack". The songs might seem to run together after sometime but diversity is not what you should be looking when you listen to this album. It delivers boundless guitar riffs and solos and crashing drums right from the start; exactly what you would expect from a Heavy Metal band. Tracks demonstrating this exquisitely are "Surgeons of Lobotomy", "I Am Pain", "The Dark Passenger", and "River Everlost". The opening riff of "Killing Floor" is a killer although midway through the song I felt kinda bored. Speed clearly takes a back seat in this album as Wolf focuses more on intricate guitar work over a steady mid-tempo Heavy Metal gallop, as well as on exploding choruses. Apart from "Shark Attack" and "Back from the Grave", all the other tracks are easy-paced but full of tangled and melodic instrumental fills. Their sincerity towards the music they create makes it possible to view this album as an homage to the classic Heavy Metal sound, rather than a cheesy rip off.
Wolf is very good at what they do and Devil Seed is a very easy, engaging listen full of melody and metal attitude. It’s pretty brainless at times but hey, a lot of good metal is. There's also a cover of Q5's "Missing in Action" in the limited edition which makes it all worthwhile to me, finally someone pays attention to one of the most amazing metal albums of the 80s and Wolf have won another point in my books!
