Artist: Bad Wolves
Album: N.A.T.I.O.N
Release Date: October 25th 2019
Label: Eleven Seven Music
Reviewed 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 Again
Killing Me Slowly
Better Off This Way
Foe or Friend
Sober
Back In the Days
The Consumerist
Heaven So Heartless
Crying Game
L.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+)
