The genre of stoner metal can be a tricky beast to master, especially for younger bands who have yet to comprehend its hazy and devious ways. And yet, there are bands like The Wolf Council, a group that emerges from the smog of Minneapolis simply glowing with potential.
They waste no time when it comes to pulling the listener into their sonic landscape. The album kicks off with slow and crushingly heavy guitar and drum work that create the feeling of a gathering storm which snaps into an almost hypnotic riff accented by impeccable bass and percussion. This becomes the standard of quality for the rest of the album, not in the sense that the same formula is repeated, but that the listener can expect to be just as engrossed in the songs yet to come.
Undoubtedly the band’s strength lies in the high degree of musicianship across the board. A guitar that is so dirty, low, and intricate it is as if it is blasting through long abandoned trenches; percussion that never seems to run out of ideas and does far more than simply hold the beat; and bass work that switches between bone rattling forward lines and foundry grooves that give the rest of the band a solid base to build upon. Even the vocals, despite lacking range and heavy substance, still have excellent tone, phrasing, and tempo that fits perfectly into the rest of the sound. With all these elements already going for them, The Wolf Council even manage to hit a home run in the development side of things as there is a clear beginning, middle, and end all flowing and growing in the same direction.
As their name would suggest, The Wolf Council seems to be composed entirely of beasts whose level of skill and talent is shocking for such a young act and there’s really not much more that needs to be said. If you like stoner metal, or even have just a passing interest, The Wolf Council is definitely worth checking out.