Wolfbrigade are credited as being pioneers of the Swedish d-beat/crust movement – something I’ll confess to having no knowledge of. Hell, I didn’t know there was a Swedish d-beat/crust movement until I read the press release, but if they’re representative, then maybe I should make it my business to explore it.
‘Damned’ is a proper blast of fast, hard grungy metal. Micke’s glass and creosote gargling vocals are a near perfect imitation of Lemmy, and sit perfectly against a backing where everything’s going hell for leather and a mix in which everything’s louder than everything else. ‘On Your Knees... In Misery’ is reminiscent of ‘Overkill’, only played at double speed. It’s all over in a minute and thirty-seven seconds, and it might be the shortest song on the album, but there are plenty of others of similar length.
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If you’re the kind of listener who finds overlong guitar solos indulgent and wearisome, then Wolfbrigade’s knack of keeping them down to a few brief and extremely fast bars will be hugely appreciated.
Longer tracks, such as the six-minute ‘Ride the Steel’, allow the band to reveal unexpected dimensions, the deceptively delicate introduction and mid-section paving the way for a truly frenzied and sustained attack.
Hurtling through a dozen tracks in thirty-five minutes, ‘Damned’ doesn’t feature one killer punch: it’s a killer punch in itself.
Wolfbrigade on MySpace
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