Valkyrian Music

Band: Wolfcrusher
Album: A Virgin Tapestry
Release year: 2011
Genre: Groove Metal

In order to create their own sound, most bands nowadays mix a lot of elements from different types of music, making almost impossible to put a label on them. Many critics make it simple and everything that has a bit of melody and a bit of harsh/growling vocals goes under “melodic death metal”. Well I like to call things by their names, for what they really are, and so, unlike others, you won’t see me classify Wolfcrusher as a melodic death metal band from Manchester. Sure you have some guitar riffs with their roots in death metal, like “Skeletonizer” or “Moving Mountains”, and the guttural ability of Gary Harkin would make a lot of death-growlers pretty envious. But the music itself has its primary foundation in groove metal, spiked up with a taste of Southern rock. So here you go: Wolfcrusher is a groovy metal band from Manchester.

I don’t know when they got together as a band, but I can tell you their first gig was in December 2010 – barely a year ago! And since they all have played (and some still do) in other bands, there was no need for prep-time: no demos, no EPs… they went straight for the debut album, which was released last July via Casket Music and is brought to you now by Valkyrian Music: “A Virgin Tapestry”.

“Reborn”, the opening theme, is probably the most extreme song in this album. Extreme in the sense that all kinds of vocal tones are explored, completely distinct from each other, and the groove parts are taken to the limits of stoner rock. And “All Shall Pass” is a true Southern ballad.

But it’s “Lost At Sea” that really catches your ears, with those rocky riffs in the beginning and then a thrilling guitar solo near the end.

“Insuperabilis”, along with the previously mentioned “Skeletonizer” and “Moving Mountains”, mark the heaviest parts of this work, and I bet these are the songs that will work better live.

On their website, when describing their sound/influences, they claim having one premise: “Make it groovy, make it catchy, and make it heavy!”. Mission accomplished!

4.5/5
Renata “Pieni” Lino

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This entry was posted on 3rd January 2012 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Review with tags Death Metal, Manchester, Melodic death metal, Wolfcrusher. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.