Album Review: Bad Wolves – N.A.T.I.O.N CD Reviews by Hear2Zen Magazine - October 25, 20190 Artist: Bad WolvesAlbum: N.A.T.I.O.NRelease Date: October 25th 2019Label: Eleven Seven MusicReviewed By: Andrew Treadwell While Bad Wolves rose to notoriety through a cover song, they have always been beyond that. Their first album Disobey gave a taste of what the band had to offer, but with their new album N.A.T.I.O.N the band have grown in leaps and bounds and are ready to stand on their own as a force in metal. The album opener “I’ll Be There” kicks in with a killer drum pattern and some great guitar riffs. Tommy Vext rips in to some rap rock styled verses and then into a great melodic pre-chorus. The perfect opener. Aggression and melody going hand in hand. Songs like this and “Friend Or Foe” shows the power of the band, but also shows the positivity of the message. The first single from the album is “Killing Me Slowly”. Another catchy song with some electronic sampling underneath some heavy riffs, makes for a great combo. The vocal melodies throughout are really fantastic, and the listener will have plenty of sing along moments. “Like A Homicide” brings a more “radio friendly” sound but not losing the power. The big chorus with its singalong would be the best introduction to new fans but also its ready made for the stage. This would be the ideal song to play on Australian commercial radio, if they weren’t scared of new music. “Learn To Walk Again” sends a great message of empowerment. Vext delivers the story with conviction and from a first person perspective, and lets anyone who has been beaten down know they can pick themselves up. “Better Off This Way” and “Sober” are not just together in the track list but they seem like they were just meant to be together from the start. Heartfelt lyrics that tell the story that someone needed to tell but the other person probably did not need to hear. “Heaven So Heartless” brings it back a bit, but still has the heavy side covered. Some distorted vocals mixes through some orchestral sounds leading into the emotive power of the chorus. The second verse will surprise all with Vext not only pulling it right back but going into a great falsetto voice. Its an amazing mixture of textures and layers “Wildfire” has a great mellow piano/vocal intro into some low almost spoken verses, building into the big chorus, to me its what a power ballad would be in 2019. Huge vocals with the sing-a-long backing vocals. It’s arena ready, and I’m sure will be added to the set as they hit the road. N.A.T.I.O.N brings you the ferocious guitars of Chris Cain and Doc Coyle, mixed with brutal yet precise rhythm section of Kyle Konkeil on Bass and John Boecklin on Drums. Sounds like a full mix yeah, but every single song has enough wide open space to let Tommy Vext weave in and out of every vocal style imaginable, projecting every emotion possible. Adding in some great production you have a really amazing end result “L.A Song” might just be my standout of the album. And it’s a great closer. Its a middle finger to the city the band spawned from but couldnt survive in. Lyrics like ‘Cause I want to be a star / I want to kiss the sky / I can’t afford to record ’cause the rent’s too high. Sums up what it music be like for a lot of bands. Such an amazing album closer. TRACKLIST I’ll Be There No Messiah Learn to Walk AgainKilling Me SlowlyBetter Off This Way Foe or FriendSoberBack In the DaysThe ConsumeristHeaven So Heartless Crying GameL.A. Song Bad Wolves hit the road with Five Finger Death Punch and Fire From The Gods November 1, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint @ Hard Rock November 2, 2019 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint @ Hard Rock November 5, 2019 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Arena November 7, 2019 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center November 9, 2019 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center November 10, 2019 – Beaumont, TX – Ford Park Center November 12, 2019 – Baton Rouge, LA – Raising Cane’s River Center Arena November 13, 2019 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center Arena November 15, 2019 – Pensacola, FL – Pensacola Bay Center November 16, 2019 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena November 18, 2019 – Jacksonville, FL – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena November 20, 2019 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena November 22, 2019 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum November 23, 2019 – Chattanooga, TN – Mckenzie Arena November 26, 2019 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena November 27, 2019 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre November 29, 2019 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena November 30, 2019 – North Charlestown, SC – North Charlestown Coliseum December 2, 2019 – Norfolk, VA – Ted Constant Convocation Center December 3, 2019 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center December 5, 2019 – Toledo, OH – Huntington Center December 6, 2019 – Lexington, KY Rupp Arena December 8, 2019 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center- Expo Hall December 9, 2019 – Fort Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum December 11, 2019 – Madison, WI – Alliant Energy Center- Veterans Memorial December 12, 2019 – Duluth, MN – Amsoil Arena December 14, 2019 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena December 15, 2019 – Omaha, NE – Chi Health Center Tommy Vext will also be in Australia in December doing a co-headline Acoustic tour with Danny Worsnop from Asking Alexandria December 18th 2019 – Woolly Mammoth – Brisbane (18+)December 20th 2019 – Manning Bar – Sydney (18+)December 21st 2019 – Evelyn Hotel – Melbourne (All Ages)December 22nd 2019 – Max Watts – Melbourne (18+) Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading... 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