R E V I E W S


Lonewolf
Army Of The Damned

Company: Napalm Records
Release: 2012
Genre: Power
Reviewer: EC

  • Well-crafted effort



    • My first run in with Lonewolf was their debut back in 2002 called "March Into The Arena". Since then the French Teutonic band have really worked hard both in the studio and abroad playing to the locals and supporting headliners. The band are often compared to Running Wild and even sound more like those German legends than Running Wild do now (something said about Primal Fear compared to Priest). Regardless the band keep pushing the power metal and once again create another well-crafted effort in "Army Of The Damned".

    This marks the band's fifth album to date and sports what will eventually make a who's who of great album covers for 2012. The record was produced by Bart Gabriel (Burning Star, Crystal Viper), the same talent that produced the band's 2009 album "The Dark Crusade". "Army Of The Damned" is also the first album for Lonewolf's new label Napalm Records.

    This sort of power metal/Teutonic flavoring is going to appeal to fans of Paragon, Iron Savior and Running Wild with vocals very reminiscent of Sabaton. The band understands their audience and provides plenty of punch on band monicker "Lonewolf" and "Cold", both playing Running Wild-styled power metal with tons of quick paced guitar and melody. The band's double bass attack runs rampant through charger "The Last Defender". Blaze Bayley (ex-Iron Maiden, Blaze) steps in for guest vocals on "The One You Never See". The album does slow down a bit, time changing for "Army Of The Damned" and "Celtic Heart".

    Fans of huge gang chants and sing alongs will love the album from start to finish, which is really my pet peeve for the record. By song eight the album is draped in huge chorus sing alongs that really seem to be cut and paste numbers. Sure bands like Sabaton are red hot right now but Paragon, Iron Savior, Running Wild and Grave Digger have been doing this sort of thing for decades. Still with that being said there is something fairly pleasant about "Crawling To Hell" and the band in unison chanting "Hell Hell Hell"...I dunno, maybe those gang chants never grow old.



    Maximum Metal Rating Legend - Full Details
    5 Excellent - Buy it and say a prayer to the metal gods that you were tuned on to this masterpiece. A classic.
    4-4.5 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a clunker or a lacking somewhere to keep it from perfection. You won't feel bad about dropping some bones on these.
    3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler. This is the OK range where you'd search for the record on sale or used.
    3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio. Could show skills but be dull overall. Redeeming qualities for indy bands are effort and passion. Majors that don't try or suck outright end up here.
    2-2.5 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors. There is much better metal out there.
    1-1.5 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
    0 Terrible or an otherwise waste of your life and time.

    Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

    The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.

    Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.


    All reviews for this band:
    CD
    		 TITLE BAND
    DOR
    		 REVIEWER DATE
    		Army Of The DamnedLonewolf
    2012
    		EC6/4/2012
    		Unholy ParadiseLonewolf
    2004
    		EC7/5/2004


    Interviews found from this band:
    INTERVIEW BAND INTERVIEWER DATE
    JensLonewolfEC9/13/2004


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