“Chicago’s BLOOD OF THE WOLF has unleashed I: The Law of Retaliation. The band’s full-length debut features ten tracks of unrelenting and barbaric blackened death metal. Featuring members of RELLIK, KOMMANDANT and TERMINATE, BLOOD OF THE WOLF delivers an intense brand of apocalyptic black metal layered with intense melodeath and extreme thrash.”
Got that? OK…that’s directly from the press release that came with the promo. So that answers the “who.” Now let’s talk about the “what”. What BLOOD OF THE WOLF are is one helluva Blackened Death Metal band, and I cannot believe I knew nothing of them until recently. Mark my words these guys are gonna be huge. With riffs that destroy everything in sight, vocals that spew pure evil, and frenetic drumming that could shatter a city’s worth of windows, the songs on I: The Law of Retaliation (self-released, out now) had me coming back for more and more this past weekend. They will get their hooks into you and cut you open, all while you beg for more.
The band really manages to find that perfect blend of Black Metal and Death Metal on tracks like “Lex Talionis” and “With Iron Weapons and Will”, two of the album’s best by the way. It’s like columns of enemy soldiers heading toward you, advancing and advancing until you are completely overwhelmed, so you may as well surrender to the music. “Ours Is the Blood of Courage” simply cracks your skull open and drinks down your by-now runny brains like the egg in Rocky Balboa’s glass during his training. A cracker of a song! And quite frankly, if “Overretaliate” doesn’t make you wanna break things and/or people then you’re doing it wrong.
“The Darkness of Chaos” and “Of Strength and Valor” are a bit different at times from the others, but they also have similar elements and fit in perfectly with the rest. These are probably the most Black Metal of all the songs, especially guitar-wise and vocally. On the other side of the coin, I love the way “Bellicose Ethos” and “Borne of Wind and War” just come in and knock your fucking block off right from the start, showing no mercy and bludgeoning you to death. In case you haven’t noticed I’ve become a rabid fan of this band in a big hurry, and if they play anywhere near Philly rest assured I’ll be there.
Closing the disc is “With Satan and Victorious Weapons”, arguably one of THE greatest song titles of 2015. It also happens to be one monster of a tune. Think of a six-armed werewolf leaping from the shadows all razor-sharp claws and bared fangs with one goal in mind: ripping you to shreds. That’s what this track does. Hell, it’s what this ALBUM does. I am so glad that I decided to check out BLOOD OF THE WOLF, and I highly recommend you do too. There aren’t a lot of albums that I can say are perfect…I: The Laws of Retaliation is one of them. Get your copy, and I mean do it YESTERDAY!!
STANDOUT TRACKS: ALL OF THEM
RATING: 10/10
