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WOLFS MOON
Curse The Cult Of Chaos

Pure Steel (2013)
Rating: 4/10

Mmm, for a start the album title is a bit of a tongue twister, and the band moniker suggests a modern gang on a revival trip maybe? However, that almost soulful, swooning introduction suggests a band experimenting with subtlety, until the riff kicks in and then I’m not so convinced.

With all due respect, Wolfs Moon, complete with clicky drum sound, are a rather standard German metal band who combine masculine power metal with lightweight thrash, although the faster elements are few and far between to the point of a sprig.

The quartet have clearly opted for an old school style of melodic metal appeal but due to the contemporary production the album lacks any real earthy appeal, especially with that god awful drum sound courtesy of Andreas Rinke. Vocally, Robert Rogge (who replaces long standing singer Carsten Pasemann) is adequate but nothing more, his tone shifting between a classic gothic metal feel and a drier gruff rasp.

On album opener ‘Dead Eyes – Blind Justice’ I’m hearing a band stuck between styles; one moment chugging along with some intent thanks to the guitars of Gerd Simson, but then faltering as some rather tepid metal act. The big surprise is that in reality these guys are veterans, Curse The Cult Of Chaos being the band’s seventh full-length record, and when you consider this opus comes five years after 2008’s Unholy Darkness, I expected a lot more.

‘Corpses In Candlelight’ is a reasonable affair that chugs in, but there’s no real intent or weight, the band’s sound clearly too polished and sounding all too formulaic, and that’s not even mentioning the lyrics. And it’s on this track that the vocals really do suffer, Rogge just not having the appetite to take chunks of flesh from the ears despite his early whispers.

Elsewhere, the title track gallops along at a healthy pace. Again though, the drums are too clicky in the mix and Rogge’s warble just lacks the oomph to match the trying guitars which are exceptionally tight.

And if you’re not convinced by my review then check out the atrocious ‘Undying Legends’, a poor man’s Dio / Iron Maiden featuring some of the worst lyrics I’ve ever witnessed – isn’t it annoying when bands quote album titles in their songs as well as mentioning Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) and Ronnie James Dio? Rogge’s vocals really do take an even bigger turn for the worse on this track; clearly the guy cannot reach high notes and he never seems comfortable in this metal style of crooning. In fact, the only noteworthy instrument of the track is the bass of Marco Dammann.

Wolfs Moon do nothing for me whatsoever. The only track I seem to be able to get my teeth into is the darker ‘Apocalyptomania’, where the band seem to come together as a tighter unit – hell, even the vocals don’t sound so amateurish. But we’re soon back to basics with the bass-lead ‘Moribund Vision’ and the brooding ‘Dynamo’, but this is so bog standard it’s unbelievable. However, I do wish that Rogge would stick to one vocal type; the guy is far more effective with those sinister snarls rather than attempting to sing, because ‘Dynamo’ really is a track of two halves down to those vocal shifts. Shame.

I’m unsure why Carsten Pasemann left Wolfs Moon, but his style was more suited to that icy power noise. For me however, Wolfs Moon just doesn’t have the conviction to propel themselves beyond the realms of the pub stage.

Neil Arnold

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