Wolfheart remains at the forefront.
Following the release of their excellent latest album, Draconian Darkness, Tuomas Saukkonen (guitar/vocals, Before the Dawn, Dawn of Solace…), Lauri Silvonen (bass/vocals, Bloodred Hourglass, Casket), Joonas Kauppinen (drums, Disease of the Nation, ex-Before the Dawn, ex-Misery Inc.) and Vagelis Karzis (guitar/vocals, Full House Brew Crew, formerly live for Rotting Christ) – assisted by Saku Moilanen (keyboards, Before the Dawn, Red Moon Architect, Slaughterror, ex-Aeonian Sorrow) from Deep Noise Studios – unveil its sequel, Draconian Darkness II.
The album opens with Carnivore, the first track to be unveiled, which immediately imposes a heavy melancholy before coupling it with a heavy and icy violence, featuring strange vocal parts before the arrival of Tuomas‘ roars. The song changes tone with a few choirs and a soaring break, but the heaviness resurfaces before unleashing powerful and unifying choruses. Forefathers follows suit with a similar vibe, remaining in the same majestic tones to which the band adds its imposing touch. The song takes a scarier turn when Vagelis‘ screams join the frontman’s ones, creating an even more furious assault before giving way to a live version of Burning Sky, a track that joined the setlists when the last album was released and which I’ve already had the chance to hear. It remains just as effective as when I first heard it, allowing us a moment of calm with its introduction before letting the musicians crush and harangue us until the very last moment, before allowing themselves a rather different exercise on The Gale. This isn’t the first time Wolfheart has tackled acoustic versions, but the song is clearly the perfect candidate, revealing its melodies in a much softer way than usual, also benefiting from beautiful clear vocals to embellish the whole thing before offering us the orchestral version of their song Grave, which also takes on a rather different dimension, much more theatrical, but just as enjoyable and intense.
Wolfheart is far from resting on its laurels, offering two new tracks on Draconian Darkness II, as well as a live recording and two reinterpretations of their songs. Enough to keep us going until the next release…
95/100