FIREWOLFE: "Firewolfe"

Rating: 8/10

Label: Indie 2011

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Fronted by powerhouse-vocalist David Fefolt (ex-Masi, Angels Of Babylon, Hawk, Valhalla) and supplied with excellent twin guitarwork by Nick Layton and Paul Kleff (both have multiple US tours doing guitar clinics for Guitar Center, Sam Ash and other major music stores), this particular pack of wolves are all set for metal havoc and biting mayhem. The albums' been mixed by John Payne (Asia) and Jay Schellen (Hurricane, Asia, Unruly Child, World Trade) and it's a pleasant surprise actually. Schellen takes also care of all the top notch drumming aka drums on the album by the way.

You can definitely tell what kind of album this is just by listening to a couple of minutes on the Firewolfe's debut as they're using killer lines such as this one from the opening track, "Air Attack", and I quote, "Eating the dirt and spitting out lead with luck on your side soon you'll be dead", end quote. Hah! Did anyone say fluffy westcoast music in style of Toto and The Doobie Brothers??? No, of course not, this is pure old skool heavy metal in the mighty fine tradition of bands such as Judas Priest, Dio, Savatage, The Rods, Banshee (Race Against Time), Sanctuary.

I didn't expect anything to be honest and they're a band who've really popped out of nowhere to join the A list of several more "professional" acts on the market. Here's the million dollar question though! Why are these guys still unsigned??? Sure, it's not a groundbreaking record and they're certainly not doing anything we haven't heard before (style-wise). However, I simply can't stop shouting along to the likes of "Unholy", "Firewolfe", "Back From Hell", etc. as they have the energy to create the coolest headbanging spasm attack on the most strongheaded A&R representative. The enchanting refrain of "Armed Forces" simply kills and I'm pretty sure that fans of Jorn Lande will also get a kick of these ten tracks of metal. Surf along to their site (below link) and have a listen to samples of all tracks, get a free download song, and eventually pick up a copy of the CD as this is VERY METAL (the latter according to the famous words of Vyvyan)...

www.firewolfe.com/