H R H - R E V I E W S

Wolfchild
Stampede Queen Perris Records

Comments: Hailing from across the water in the land known as Finland hails the band Wolfchild. Wolfchild is a four-piece classic rock band whose songs are in the style of AC/DC, Dirty Looks or Rhino Bucket. The band has a stripped back sound that you can listen to in 10, 20 years without the fear of it sounding dated.

Getting right too it, the album pumps out a riff on the tune “Walk Away” which is loud and proud. When Kim Hogberg starts to sing it takes one back as you expect a screamer. What you get instead is a vocal style that is similar to Danzig. As a matter of fact this entire album could be categorized as AC/DC meets Danzig.

The party continues with “Don’t Shoot Me” which is a perfect track to follow “Walk Away” The guitar solo is fitting and really is very good, but is buried in the mix. Like the two previous tracks “Like A Dog” begins with a distinctive guitar riff that sets the tone for the song. While the vocals don’t take anything away from this track, one has to wonder what it would sound like with the vocal talents of Brian Johnson (AC/DC) or Jesse James Dupree (Jackyl).

The first ballad is “Out From The Blues”. Kim’s voice really shines here as he belts out a song about lost love. This is also the best guitar solo on the album as it is truly inspired. “Cuts Like A Knife” clearly states that its time to rock once again with drums setting the tone for this one. Everything the band does is great; however, the track should have been bigger. Example is that the drums that start the song don’t sound bigger than life. The mix is a little muddy. The final two tracks are easily the finest tracks of this album. The first being “Day By Day is another highlight that will easily make fists pound in the air at the bands live shows. The final tune “Shadow Zone” is an atmospheric tune with the vibe being set by drums and bass. This song really fits Kim’s voice and he really shines here. Marko also adds some fine ad-libs that really adds to the feel of the song.

Bottom Line: this is a band with nothing but upside. The songs are well written and well performed. There are two problems with this affair. The first is while Kim’s voice doesn’t take anything away from the music, it really isn’t the best choice for the band's sound. The second issue is the overall mix. The guitar is up way to much in the mix, drowning out the vocals and often the guitar solos. There are some fine guitar solos on the album but you really have to listen close to hear many of them. The production is hard to listen to but just isn’t as clean and big as it should be. If you are a fan of 3-chord rock like AC/DC, then pick up this album as the songs themselves are as good as anything that has come out in the last few months.

www.perrisrecords.com

http://www.wolfchildband.com/

Track listing:
Walk Away
Don’t Shoot Me
Like A Dog
One Woman
Out From The Blues
Cuts Like A Knife
Gasoline
Queen Of The Streets
Day By Day
Shadow Zone

HRH Rating: 6.8/10

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