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Lonewolf: Army of the Damned

Heavy/Power Metal

3.0/5.0

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Napalm Records
by Craig Hartranft,  03.19.2012

When it comes to classic heavy or power metal, I don't think of France as a country of origin. Pardon my ignorance or prejudice. But here's Lonewolf, a French power metal who's origins go back to the early Nineties, with greater success in the last 10 years. Army of the Damned is their fifth album, and my first experience with the band.

Lonewolf: there was a sale on bullet belts.

Foremost, Lonewolf deserves strong marks for delivering solid and traditional melodic heavy power metal. Frankly, for a four piece crew, they sound larger, even more epic, as if there should be more players in the band. To these ears, the best part is the music. Not dismissing Jens Borner's vocals as bad, but they are, generally, gruff and uninspiring. At times, he reminds of a combination of Udo and Joakim Broden of Sabaton.

And that's what Lonewolf reminds me of, Sabaton. But without all the battle and war references and the grand melodic hooks. Yet, those hooks are there, just very subtle, requiring more attention. It's more in the music than the lyrics and vocals. Unfortunately, I'm not willing to give that much attention to appreciate the nuances. All the songs are viable, but not all are that convincing or entertaining, merely adequate. Best cuts include Lonewolf, Hellbent for Metal (though cliche), Cold, and One Second in Eternity. Tally Ho is just strange. (Maybe that's because it was also the name of a gay bar in our county seat.)

For typical European melodic power metal, Lonewolf's Army of the Damned is adequate, but not astonishing. You could do worse; it is head banging stuff.

For typical European melodic power metal, Lonewolf's Army of the Damned is adequate, but not astonishing. You could do worse; it is head banging stuff.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]