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JFH Music Review


Wolves at the Gate, Eulogies
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Wolves at the Gate
Eulogies



Artist Info: Discography
Genre(s): Rock / Post-Hardcore
Album length: 13 tracks: 46 minutes, 44 seconds
Street Date: March 11, 2022


READER RATING:   


Metal music comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes you have bands with mostly clean vocals, like Demon Hunter; other times you get a blend of harsh and clean vocals, like Wolves at the Gate; and sometimes you get bands with only harsh vocals. Wolves at the Gate has proven themselves admirable in being one of the big highlights from Solid State Records over the past four full-length studio albums.

On their latest label release, Eulogies, "Shadows" starts the album as a satisfying opener with progressive guitars fading in. The lyrics are very insightful as well, "These ghosts grab my throat saying this would be all / I'd ever know of life, know of hope / All I'd ever know of light / The night fell upon me like the swell of a wave / Until the daybreak sparked the words of light / To turn and face the sun now." The next song, "Peace That Starts the War," focuses on the constant battle one has with doubt, "These voices fight for their life they're claiming / Help is retreating / you are lost, all alone, with a hope that's dead and conquered." As a very catchy third track, "Kiss the Wave" has a "Bleed It Out" (Linkin Park) vibe in the way the song strums along. Wolves always seems to provide an uplifting anthem on their albums, like their newest, "Light & Fire." Steve Cobucci's vocals deliver a convincing emotion that pulls the listener in with lines like, "Can you see the lights and fire fall? / burning down till nothing's left at all / sifting through the wreck and ashes, oh / Listen and you'll hear the love that calls." Fans should be very pleased with the title track and "Weight of Glory" as they both have a very classic Wolves feel to them, similar to songs found on Captors and VxV.

This album never slows down and has a nice stream of songs that continues with "Deadweight," which focuses on eradicating pride and concentrating on the important things in life, like your relationship with God. "No Tomorrow" is a standout ballad that echoes songs that were more prevalent in the early 2000s. The energy is certainly not wasted in the unforgettable "White Flag." The fast-paced rhythm elicits the sound of "Vapors" from their EP, We are the Ones.

The album closes with some very thought-provoking songs, "Embracing Accusation" and "Silent Anthem." "Embracing Accusation" has a very noteworthy twist in the song as it expresses that Satan is constantly providing interests in a person's life and it appears as though he has power. However, in the end, the song asserts, "He's forgotten the refrain, Jesus saves / He redeemed me from the curse of the law." The epic closer, "Silent Anthem" is a very haunting yet uplifting song that's almost a borderline praise and worship song, lyrically. The lyrics resonate, "My heart still echoes the words you burned inside that are endless / the anthem of heaven / But if you silence this song the rocks will cry out /the anthem of heaven."

Wolves at the Gate provides some of the most compelling and impressive songwriting ever on their newest release. In a world where singles and small EPs are becoming more common, it's quite an experience to have a band like Wolves at the Gate drop a nice 13-track album that keeps the listener absorbed and satisfied. Eulogies is easily one of the finest albums this year that no metal or hard rock fan should be without in their library.

- Review date: 3/10/22, written by Wayne Myatt of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Staff's Second Opinion



Almost a year has passed since the release of "Stop the Bleeding," the April 2021 single that appeared at the time to be a one-off single, yet which now shows up as the ninth song on Wolves at the Gate's fifth album, Eulogies. In many ways, "Stop the Bleeding" sounded like a regurgitation of sounds and styles from 2019's Eclipse, filtered into a more radio-friendly format with a chorus designed for crowd singalongs. As the album rollout officially kicked off in October, there was an air of emulation; whether it's Architects on "Shadows," Bring Me the Horizon on "Lights & Fire," or Korn on "Peace that Starts the War," each of the pre-release singles strongly resembled bands that are mainstays on Billboard's Hard Rock charts or on Spotify's metal editorial playlists.

It's fun to see Wolves try on new hats, such as tapping into thrash metal on "Weight of Glory," but the overarching experience is in turns stylistically disjointed and musically homogenous, with many verses colored with near-identical guitar riffs and drum beats. It doesn't help that -- even though Steve Cobucci remains expertful at penning a compelling stanza -- too many songs share a reliance on overused imagery such as light, fire, darkness, hearts of stone, etc., wrapped inside vaguely Christianese messages. It's particularly telling, then, that two of the album's strongest songs, pushed to the end of the track listing, are the most explicitly Christian of the bunch. "Embracing Accusation" is an exceptional Shane & Shane cover that calls to mind their rendition of the hymn "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood" from Types & Shadows. It's followed by the closer "Silent Anthem," a banger that's bound to be a favorite of fans who miss the band's "old sound."

What's exciting about Eulogies is less that I expect it to be anyone's new favorite Wolves album, but rather that I expect it to be an introduction for many new fans. It is my hope that the band reaches new levels of success with Eulogies, offering them the opportunity to craft a more cohesive sixth album, one where these talented musicians and devoted believers can balance their established strengths with a more focused sense of growth, experimentation, and direction. - Review date: 3/10/22, Chase Tremaine of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

. Record Label: Solid State Records
. Album length: 13 tracks: 46 minutes, 44 seconds
. Street Date: March 11, 2022
. Buy It: Apple Music
. Buy It: Amazon.com (CD)
. Buy It: Amazon.com (Vinyl)
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)

  1. Shadows (3:23)
  2. Peace That Starts the War (2:48)
  3. Kiss the Wave (3:49)
  4. Lights & Fire (3:30)
  5. Eulogies (3:32)
  6. Weight of Glory (2:46)
  7. Deadweight (3:48)
  8. No Tomorrow (3:23)
  9. Stop the Bleeding (3:48)
  10. White Flag (2:44)
  11. Out of Sight (3:25)
  12. Embracing Accusation (4:15)
  13. Silent Anthem (5:26)

 

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