The evocation of mood and the inspiration of imagination are important ingredients in the darker veins of heavy metal. The international band Wolfdom obviously know that. They set about doing it before you hear a single note, through the band name they chose, through the name of their debut album — Moonlight Misanthropy — and through the record’s macabre cover art. It all combines to invoke a midnight atmosphere of supernatural horror and hostility to humankind.
But what of the music they’ve made? GrimmDistribution, the label that will release the album on January 23rd, discloses that Wolfdom operated under the influence of Darkthrone (especially the albums F.O.A.D. and Cult Is Alive), as well as Bewitcher and Midnight, reveling in “the glorification of Satan through the good old heavy metal”, with Satan representing for them a “raised banner of freedom, a creative realization of oneself in spite of the propagated propaganda of politicians and religions”.
But let’s see for ourselves, shall we?
What we have for you now is the premiere of the new album’s title track. Speaking of good old heavy metal, the song’s ringing opening tones make a grand (and infernal) entrance, and the slashing chords and scorching screams that follow channel both menace and malignancy. With the drummer shifting from rocking grooves to a pummeling gallop, the riffing grows more super-heated and savage and the throat-ruining vocals even more brazenly unhinged.
The band’s talent for interweaving black metal terror and anthemic heavy metal continues to emerge as the song alternately incinerates and stalks. Wolfdom manage to punch the guts, to swagger like a feral beast, to attack with unbridled viciousness, and to send their music into high-flown realms of devilish glory.
GrimmDistribution will release Moonlight Misanthropy as a digital download, and it’s available for pre-order now.
We’re also including a stream of the album’s first single, “Infernal Shadows Of Thousand Thorned Wings“, which is a free download at Bandcamp. Prepare for a hellish trip that’s even more menacing and steeped in moods of occult horror than the title song, but also proves to be an evil spell that easily gets stuck in the head, capped by a blazing nightmarish finale.
PRE-ORDER:
https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/081gd-wolfdom-moonlight-misanthropy-2023
