Rough Edge: Wehrwolfe CD Reviews

WEHRWOLFE

"Godless We Stand" (Cleopatra / Magick Records; 2003)

After the demise of Darkmoon, presumably due to the departure of Jon Vesano to Nile, three former Darkmoon members recruited vocalist Nathan Ellis to create Wehrwolfe. I say 'presumably' because I don't keep tabs on all the personnel moves in the death metal genre and the subsequent domino effect on band line-ups. Anyway, Wehrwolfe's entry into the blasphemous black/death metal market is a startlingly good effort that caught me by surprise. I guess I didn't have high hopes for Wehrwolfe simply because I was a bit ignorant about the band and because I've not been in a very 'death metal' mood lately.

Additionally, extreme metal often needs multiple listens to even begin appreciating what it has to offer. That wasn't 100 percent the case with "Godless We Stand." There were enough thrash metal and black metal elements that I could really dig what Wehrwolfe were trying to do during the first spin. The guitar solos break free of the 'speed is king' approach and actually skirts the more flowing style more often found in the thrash metal genre. "Godless We Stand" features 11 tracks in less than 33 blasphemous minutes – Wehrwolfe waste no time getting to the heart of the songs.

I have a funny feeling in some respects that Wehrwolfe is the remaining members of Darkmoon attempting to sound a little bit like Nile. Wehrwolfe have a technical edge that is very similar to Nile, but unlike Nile have a looser groove to their overall package.

However, Wehrwolfe's "Godless We Stand" is solid disc that is a tight and technical, yet expressive, package. "Godless We Stand" will have broad appeal to most fans of the death, black, and thrash metal genres.

"Godless We Stand" was produced by Wehrwolfe.

Wehrwolfe is Nathan Ellis on vocals, Chuck on guitars, Devon on bass, and Scott Pletcher on drums.

For more information visit http://www.wehrwolfe.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

Back to CD Reviews Home

Back to RoughEdge.com Home