J-Metal Reviews: Wolf "Wolf" (EP)

By Badman

Is it that time again? Hell yeah it is! Welcome back to the weekly J-Metal album (EP this week) review! Today, I present one of Osaka’s hidden gems. Welcome to the stage: The undaunting band Wolf!

Off the top, in my opinion, Wolf undoubtedly belongs in the upper echelon of Japanese Metal bands. Their brand of sonic steel exudes pure, raw heaviness; immense as hell! The band was a quartet: Tatsunori Matsumoto on vocals, Masahiko Kuroki on guitar, Nobuo Horie on drums, and Ken Nishikawa on bass. As kickass as they are, Wolf sadly had a short-lived career only lasting from 1987 to 1991. Not much information is known about the band other than a handful of released material, which includes two demos, an EP, a single, and a full-length album. Despite the lack of material, Wolf left the world heavy metal with absolute gems. One of those gems is their gnarly EP simply titled "Wolf".

Wolf's self-titled EP is nothing short of spectacular. With six tracks, the runtime is a whopping thirty minutes of heavy metal goodness. Everyone in this four piece band knocks the ball out of the park. Tatsunori’s ranging vocals are beautifully mesmerizing. The guitar work Masahiko delivers is masterfully phenomenal. Nobuo’s drums and Ken’s bass rhythm sections are booming and on point. Are there standouts? Yes there are. Just like last week’s review, I believe that all the tracks on this EP stand out.

Even though I believe they're all standouts, I do have my favorites. The first would be the opening track "Running Forever". This song opens with a fast, killer riff that sets the pace of the song. It will keep your head banging... forever. "Catch Your Mind" is powerfully catchy and hits that sweet spot just perfectly. Then there is the track "Loving You" which is an absolutely powerful, heavy ballad showcasing the band’s composition talents.

So, what's the verdict? Wolf is a f**king killer, head-smashing band and this EP definitely shows it. In all honesty I can’t see how these boys are an obscure band. They deserve a seat at the royal J-Metal roundtable amongst the greats like LOUDNESS, EZO, ANTHEM, and BOW WOW. So get up off your asses and go listen to Wolf now! You can thank me later!

Standouts: 
Catch Your Mind
Running Forever
Loving You 
Flying Higher
Let’s Get to Fire
Heart Beat