Wow, it has been a while since I wrote anything here and I bet you all thought that this little thing is dead by now. Well, yours truly is pretty much alive, though for the past few weeks only barely. My thesis writing, which is done by the way, consumed most of my time, so that coupled with some additional horrible happenings in my life managed to really drag me from doing anything, least of all writing here. I will try to muster some strength and willpower to write more often from now on, especially since in the second half of February I will be attending some extremely cool gigs, so show reviews will be abundant.
But enough about me, lets talk about "Fuck, Wolves!", a band really loved by your host. The four piece screamo band from Germany grabbed a hold of my liking ever since I heard their demo back in 2008. Additionally, the band really holds a special place in my heart, since they are involved in the first interview done for this blog, if you remember the dual interview I did after reviewing their split with "Chaos is...". In case you missed those, since they were done a long time ago, the interviews are found here and here, while the split review is found here.
To be honest, quite some time has passed since I last listened to this band, but coming back to them now instantly refreshes my thoughts on why I loved them so much back in the day of the demo. They were raw, aggressive and chaotic, going so far to extremes as to sounding like each member is playing without the notion of others, yet they somehow managed to fit in perfectly with one another. The sound was so crunchy and raspy that the shifts in melody came completely unexpected and much more impacting the listener. It took a bit of time to get used to the record quality, but once you get there you really fall in love with their music.
Needless to say, things have changed since then, albeit the band remained to be extremely pleasurable. A definite bridge between this release and the demo was the above mentioned "Chaos is..." split, since they took a bit of a style change and they stick with it even today. "Und zwischen all unseren Trümmern und Traumgebilden" brings us four new songs, one of which is a cover of another band from Germany called "Fargo". The opening song, "Kontraktionsphase", starts with a slow buildup which really succeeds in setting up a certain mood for the rest of the record. The tension builds up a bit after a vocal sample, with a sort of pinnacle of chaos being released past the first minute and a half. Curiously enough, the song goes up and down constantly with aggressive parts being intercepted with slower, more atmospheric melodies. The most interesting thing was that I could hear all sorts of influences the band could potentially have in that one song, ranging from the eerie tones that we can hear from "June Paik" to some early "Danse Macabre" and even "Louise Cyphre". After the, nearly experimental, first track comes "But Habbit Is A Great Deadener" which is a more classic "Fuck, Wolves!", an in your face, chaotic and rending song. The song just rushes past you with its insanely good buzzing sound which really managed to throw me back so close to the days of their first recordings.
The "Fargo" cover, more precisely "Leben macht Hungrig" from their "Zug Um Zug" release in 2009, is excellent. "Fuck, Wolves!" managed to keep the heaviness and the massive, beating riffs, yet they successfully molded the song in their own style. The grand finale comes in the form of "Heute ist auch nur Gestern 2.0", an excellent way to end this 7'', the track being on par with the opening song, with that atmosperic mood-setter which "Fuck, Wolves!" implement so well. This is definitely my favorite song from the release, since it bears something really specific which draws you time and time again to it. The growing tension, bridges and the crescendo of the song have an excellent composition, which at certain moments reminds me of several 90's screamo bands. While the melody keeps waving up and down, the listener is simply being drowned in a certain melancholic atmosphere. The band seems to excel very well at delivering a specific emotion through the speakers, a trait that not many bands can call their own.
The "Fargo" cover, more precisely "Leben macht Hungrig" from their "Zug Um Zug" release in 2009, is excellent. "Fuck, Wolves!" managed to keep the heaviness and the massive, beating riffs, yet they successfully molded the song in their own style. The grand finale comes in the form of "Heute ist auch nur Gestern 2.0", an excellent way to end this 7'', the track being on par with the opening song, with that atmosperic mood-setter which "Fuck, Wolves!" implement so well. This is definitely my favorite song from the release, since it bears something really specific which draws you time and time again to it. The growing tension, bridges and the crescendo of the song have an excellent composition, which at certain moments reminds me of several 90's screamo bands. While the melody keeps waving up and down, the listener is simply being drowned in a certain melancholic atmosphere. The band seems to excel very well at delivering a specific emotion through the speakers, a trait that not many bands can call their own.
As a whole, this release sounds like what "June Paik" would be prior to their demo from 2004. This might not make any sense to the readers, but it is logical in my crazy head. Needless to say, this is by no means a flaw or negative critic, but on the contrary quite a positive thing. "Fuck, Wolves!" continue to grow and after each release they evolve and mature, acquiring a darker and more ambiental trait along the way, which definitely serves them good. I'd like to thank Jens for sending me several copies of this great seven inch for the distro, which has been released by "Moment of Collapse" records in 2011, featuring some pretty rad artwork and design. Definitely check this band out, I guarantee you won't regret!
