BAD WOLVES | Disobey | Album Review

There is an obvious feeling in the eyes of many that rock and metal music is waning severely in the public eye. The focus is shifted towards mainly solo pop acts that lean either toward rap and hip hop or a more electronic dance driven ideal. Music that leans more on the guitar is not getting the same shine as it was years ago, especially with newer acts, however it seems like there were no obstacles that stopped Bad Wolves from the overnight attention extracted upon them, and the story behind the reason why is a harrowing one yet an interesting one at the same time. "Disobey" is the band's debut album and the first single that charted on rock radio, their cover of The Cranberries hit "Zombie", ended up blowing up everywhere even on the Hot 100 and the overall iTunes chart, with a ton of theories pointing toward The Cranberries frontman Dolores O'Riordan passing away before her planned involvement as a guest vocalist on the track. Even if you don't believe that's the exact reason, Bad Wolves rose literally from a great new band that had a slim chance of getting traction to a band that is getting well-deserved focus to the point to where it could help the genre they are in as a collective whole. And what's crazy is that any people scoping "Disobey" out after hearing "Zombie" will be surprised that this band has a heavier style, being a supergroup of former members of Divine Heresy, Westfield Massacre, Devildriver and Bury Your Dead. 

Getting to before the "Zombie" cover even came to fruition and "Disobey" was even announced as the band's debut release, two singles were released last year to give us a taste of what the band's heavy style would be like, "Learn To Live" and "Toast To The Ghost". Both songs are very ferocious in the delivery from vocalist Tommy Vext as well as aggressive low tuned guitars that bring an interesting djent flare to both tracks, but there is definitely some effort put into these tracks. "Toast To The Ghost", which is oddly the album's closing track, especially shows the band's talents and what they are capable of at five and a half minutes in length. It's a very unique track which has elements of melodic death metal and metalcore as well as progressive metal, but everything flows seamlessly on this track, with the verses being the icing on the cake for me. Then, there's the aforementioned "Zombie" cover itself which really is not as heavy as either of the two, and it's a good decision. Comparing this song to the original, it looks like Bad Wolves formatted this version to fit more on rock radio with a shorter runtime and a quick solo after the second chorus along with somber piano-driven verses that alter some lyrics of the original, but here the liberties they take give this song its own identity and it's a very moving track. 

For any fans of the members' previous bands that are expecting something as relentlessly heavy will be surprised to find out that the "Zombie" cover is not an anomaly on the track listing. There are various tracks on this disc that have a major amount of anger and aggression let in the door such as "Officer Down", "Run For Your Life", "Jesus Slaves", and "Better The Devil", but there are also those that take a step back and either go for the radio rock side or go completely soft as a whole like "Hear Me Now" and "Remember When". It's nice to see a band rooted in this style go for a more diverse angle, and most of these tracks hit home runs. "Run For Your Life" is especially a highlight of the album in the sense that Tommy Vext's higher ranged vocals sound fantastic with the fast pacing of the drumwork and the guitars behind him. It's also proof that Bad Wolves aren't afraid of tackling controversial topics such as flaws in our police system in "Officer Down" and religion in "Jesus Slaves", but both make for great songs. There is some talent to be found throughout the entirety of this album and Bad Wolves blend each of their influences together for a very alluring debut album that really delivers when it sets out to deliver. With the aggressive tracks and the more basic tracks, there really is some gold in this mine that one could dig into. 

This isn't exactly a perfect album as there are some cons noticeable within the pros. The version of "Hear Me Now" included on this album is not the duet with Diamante which I feel is much superior to this version and would have worked a lot better. Also, the album does get a little bit repetitive with tracks like "Truth Or Dare", "The Conversation", and even "Better The Devil". Even with those criticisms, I still feel like on these tracks Bad Wolves really showcase what their style is about and if they're able to keep their heads in check in the future, we may be on the road to even better material than this. This road is wide open for them going forward and I am faithful that this band is going to have a fruitful and lengthy tenure ahead of them because debut albums are usually not a band's best work. It usually takes more albums to really set in stone if a band is here to say. This is easily recommendable to fans of the groups that the members of this band came from as well as other similar bands like Killswitch Engage and Fear Factory who want something a bit fresh and creative from the genre that doesn't nearly as often stick with the same calling card as the other bands in the genre. In all fairness, this debut album by Bad Wolves proves that this band are a band to watch. 

RATING: 8/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.