• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I reviewed Elmsfire's debut album, Thieves of the Sun, almost exactly four years ago (I'm writing this on 6/25/16 and that earlier review appeared on 6/24/12). This new album, Hour of the Wolf, took me by surprise with its sound and I had to go back to my Thieves of the Sun review to try and understand what was going on. Where I likened the debut to an Orden Ogan/early-Metallica mash up, Hour of the Wolf has less of a Thrash feel and more of a Traditional Metal vibe with an almost industrial streak, especially in the vocal lines. There are keyboards and they remain a complementary element of Elmsfire's approach but it is still the guitars, with fat, crunchy riffs, and the vocals with some noticeable studio effects that dominate. The songwriting is once again unspectacular with little to give the album a signature track until the closer, "Ashes." The mix of a solid guitar riff and a brooding piano creates some real atmosphere. Too bad there wasn't more like this on Hour of the Wolf. Elmsfire are just a little different this time around, so even though Hour of the Wolf isn't killer, the band is definitely interesting.