Album review: WOLFHEART – Wolves Of Karelia

Napalm Records [10.04.20]

Finnish metallers Wolfheart master in something called ‘Winter Metal’ which appears to be a cross between fast and furious death metal and the wide soundscapes of Sigur Ros. It is a mix which works amazingly well and the band have produced an album that conjures up a vision of the frozen and bleak areas in the north of Finland.

‘Hail Of Steel’ literally sets the scene, blending melody with brutality and a huge sweeping chorus soundscape. The music is indeed heavy and not for all, but melody and harmony are not sacrificed in the mix.

‘Horizon Of Fire’ starts off quietly, but that doesn’t last long before the furious drumming kicks in along with more breakneck riffage. Things do calm down a bit from time to time over the course of the album and ‘Reaper’ is one of the more straightforward metal workouts, a bit less frenetic with a solid riff.

The peace is shattered once more with the pounding of ‘The Hammer’. Once again drums and guitars are set to stun but melody and harmony are at the forefront creating a musical vista. A short acoustic interlude follows taking you to the ‘Eye Of The Storm’. ‘Born From Fire’ transports you back to the frozen wastes like a chill wind across the tundra.

The band then pull out all the stops for ‘Arrows Of Chaos’ which is the most unforgiving track on the album with the melody underpinning the brutality of the music. ‘Ashes’ brings things to a close and is a slow builder from a gentle intro to a huge final crescendo to round off your Finnish odyssey.

Wolfheart have married heaviness and melody perfectly here and whilst the unrelenting nature of the music won’t be to all tastes it is more accessible than most in this area of metal. I would recommend you give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.

****

Review by Dave Wilson

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