France’s Lonewolf have been around since the mid-ninties, but their latest album on Napalm Records, “Army of the Damned” is the first time that I have heard anything by them. If I were to describe the bands sound, I would say they are an amalgamation of traditional heavy metal, power metal, and sprinkled with Celtic and Pagan metal influences. The songs are fast, furious, and bombastic. Starting with their namesake “Lonewolf”, the choruses are catchy sing-a-long anthems. Drummer Antoine Bussiere lays down a powerful double bass attack and the twin axe attack of vocalist/ rhythm gutarist Jens Börner and lead player Alex Hilber is reminiscent of classic Accept. Lonewolf keep the flag of heavy metal flying high with headbanging tunes like ‘Crawling to Hell”, the ode to Judas Priest “Hellbent for Metal”, and ‘The Last Defender”.

The album’s mix has crystal clarity and the production values are top notch. If I were to have one critique it would be that the vocals of Jens Börner could be an aquired taste to some, including this reviewer. It’s not that they are bad, at times he sounds like Accept’s Udo Dirkshneider, and at other times it sounds like he is gargling with razor blades. The songs can sometimes get a little monotonous. At certain points on the album I forgot which song I was listening to. But this is all a matter of personal taste. Lonewolf is currently on a European tour with Powerwolf (they just need “Leatherwolf” to round out the bill! Haha!), Mystic Prophecy, and Storm Warrior. If you live in Europe I highly recommend catching this tour and if you’re a fan of catchy anthemic power metal, pick up ‘Army of the Damned” you won’t be disappointed! 

Rating: 7.0