Band: Bad Wolves
Album: Disobey
Label: Eleven Seven Music/Sony

Bad Wolves are a relatively new band on the scene, but the band members themselves come with pedigree to hard to ignore. Made up of Vocalist Tommy Vext previously of “Devine Heresy”, Bassist Kyle Konkiel, previously from “In This Moment”, Doc Coyle previously of “God Forbid”, John Boecklin on drums, previously of “Devildriver”, and guitarist Chris Cain from “Bury Your Dead”, this 5 piece stamped their mark on the scene with their cover of The Cranberries “Zombie”, originally slated to have an appearance from Delores O’Riordan, who unfortunately passed away before this could come to fruition.

Bad Wolves shouldn’t be judged just on this cover alone, as this debut is far more than that. “Officer Down” comes straight out of the gate with some blistering playing, only to be matched with the power of Vext’s vocals. Nice to see bands come straight out and go for the throat.

“Toast To The Ghost” is another standout. Going from guttural growls to clean anthemic choruses, makes it hard to ignore, and Boecklin’s stellar double bass work makes him the MVP on this track. It’s the closer on the album, would loved to have seen it up the track listing.

“No Masters” couples a killer riff full of groove with some awesome vocal changes, and also nice to hear harmonies on heavier songs rather than just growling. “Remember When” brings down the pace, but tells a story of life and friendship, would love to see this out as a single as it will have great cross over potential at rock radio.

“Shape Shifter” is almost prog like with some of its elements. Vext weaves his vocals in and out of some awesome playing from the band in the verses, for them all to bring it home with a straight ahead powerful chorus. Loving the changes throughout. “Learn to Live” while showcasing the whole band really does highlight how Vext’s vocals can switch from clean to killer in a moments notice. A song meant for the stage for sure. Another track which really shows the how great the playing on this is “Run For Your Life”, some really great dynamics from the band.

If people are expecting an album of songs that sound like “Zombie”, they may be a bit shocked, but they also may be pleasantly shocked. For a new band Bad Wolves seem to have a great chemistry in album form, it will be interesting to see how this translates over time as a live touring band and also looking forward to a second album. Hopefully they can stand on their own without needing covers, as I think too many artists rely on them to make a commercial connection for airplay.

Disobey Track Listing

1. Officer Down
2. Learn To Live
3. No Masters
4. Zombie
5. Run For Your Life
6. Remember When
7. Better The Devil
8. Jesus Slaves
9. Hear Me Now
10. Truth Or Dare
11. The Conversation
12. Shape Shifter
13. Toast To The Ghost