Bad Wolves – N.A.T.I.O.N. Review

This album is one I feel every metalhead should give a listen to. Even if you're a fan of just hard rock music, you most likely would enjoy this...

Label: Eleven Seven Music
10/25/2019
Rock/Hard Rock

 

Line Up:

Tommy Vext – Vocals
John Boecklin – Drums
Doc Coyle – Guitar
Chris Cain – Guitar
Kyle Konkiel – Bass

 

Tracklist:

I’ll Be There
No Messiah
Learn To Walk Again
Killing Me Slowly
Better Off This Way
Foe Or Friend
Sober
Back In The Days
The Consumerist
Crying Game
LA Song

 

The band, Bad Wolves are, anything but bad, let’s just get that out of the way up front! From their first album Disobey (2018) which housed the band’s outstanding cover of Zombies, from The Cranberries, the new release N.A.T.I.O.N will kick any metal fan into overdrive! I had heard of these guys from my inner grapevine of friends, and of course, they were on tour with Asking Alexandria and Papa Roach; but I didn’t know their music fully till this album… WOW!

Starting with the opening track ‘I’ll Be There’ you have this heavy riffed, headbanger, of a song. It has everything one would need for a great opener! Chugs on the guitar, power from the drums and bass, and topped off with a mix of Clean and Fry vocals from the one and only Tommy Vext (Ex-Divine Heresy). And that feeling does not stop into the next song. Instead, they go from a Killer ripping song to a throw the drinks up, and MOSH, that track is ‘No Messiah”.  Right from the start, I have to give props to not sticking to just this Five Finger Death Punch sound,  but adds (to me) this hint of Southern Rock/Metal!  Which normally hearing that type of sound on a hard-hitting album would make me go “Woah, what happened?” but I did not find myself saying anything like that on this album! Yet again those HARSH vocals find their way perfectly into the song in the bridges, once in a while popping up in the chorus.

I, myself, love groups that throw a little bit of everything into their songs, which is why I’m more of a fan of Progressive Metal and Rock, and though this album does not have that Progressive vibe to it, the one thing it does have is one of my favorite things: Ballads! Found towards the middle of this long 12 track album, both have to be a perfect sing-along for anyone. ‘Killing Me Slowly’ and ‘Sober’ found their way to my daily rotation on Spotify, and one of the main reasons I went to snag this album from my local record shop. Yes, you have killer songs like ‘Crying Game’, and ‘LA Song’, you just can’t beat how well this group made their ballads. The guitar works and solos are perfect to just get lost in. And they didn’t just stop there; the lyrics of both songs have an amazing message in both the songs; ‘Better off This Way’ talking about a fail relationship, and just wanting to move on to something better. It could be about many of the members changing bands because you got some good hitters in this group, or maybe just a relationship didn’t pan out well! This is why I love music, only the artist truly knows what the song is fully about! ‘Sober’ was a little more forward about drug addiction and trying to get clean, could be personal to a member, or just another story song.

Other than the two ballads I sang to, I had to choose ‘Foe Or Friend’ as my top song on this album! Out of 12 songs, I hope I will be able to run around the pit to this song. With the backup vocals following suit in the Marilyn Manson and Motionless in White chanting fashion, this song has an energy that just makes you want to headbang till you get whiplash. And I honestly can’t wait to stand in the middle of the crowd and hear the bass push me around!

This album is one I feel every metalhead should give a listen to. Even if you’re a fan of just hard rock music, you most likely would enjoy this album! I can’t wait to see where Bad Wolves go on their tour, which can be found easily through their website!

 

Written by: Jeremy Nelson

Ratings: 7/10

 

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EXTREME’S UNMATCHED MUSICAL MASTERY AND ELECTRIFYING STAGE PRESENCE: A DEFINING FORCE IN ROCK HISTORY LIVE AT MARS MUSIC HALL, HUNTSVILLE, AL

EXTREME’S UNMATCHED MUSICAL MASTERY AND ELECTRIFYING STAGE PRESENCE: A DEFINING FORCE IN ROCK HISTORY LIVE AT MARS MUSIC HALL, HUNTSVILLE, AL

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