Wolfpakk-Rise Of The Animal

AFM Records
2015

Self-recorded at Germany's Kidromm Music, "Rise Of The Animal" is the third full-length release from all-star hard & heavy project Wolfpakk. With a grand total of 11 tracks, "Rise Of The Animal" follows the same premise as Wolfpakk's prior two releases in that you have group visionaries (and primary songwriters) Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) and Michael Voss (Michael Schenker, Casanova, Mad Max) teaming up with a group of cherry-picked guest musicians for a hard rock/heavy metal LP. That's the Wolfpakk formula in a nutshell. It's nothing fancy and it certainly isn't complicated and the real truth of it all is that when it comes to these kind of pre-assembled pet projects there's nothing new under the sun. I believe I said as much in my coverage of this band's 2011 self-titled release and it's 2013' follow-up, "Cry Wolf". Both "Wolfpakk" and "Cry Wolf" were good album's even if they were far from being a novel idea. Originality isn't a strong suit when it comes to Wolfpakk's sound and that much holds true on album number three here. But, that has more to do with the actual guest singers involved with "Rise Of the Animal" than the actual music as a lot of the vocalists have distinct styles. Artists like Andi Deris (Helloween), Marc Storace (Krokus), Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow/Deep Purple), David Reece (ex-Accept), Ted Poley (Danger Danger) and Don Dokken (Dokken) give their respective numbers a real air of familiarity and that can leave the listener with a clear cut case of déjà vu. Opener "Rider Of The Storm" with Andi Deris (Helloween) on lead vocals sounds like a thousand other hard and heavy band we've all heard before while Joe Lynn Turner's "Highlands" sounds eerily like late-period Def Leppard. And of course the real easy example of how familiar it all is would be "Sock It To Me" with Krokus frontman Marc Storace. Obviously Krokus comes to mind as the number rolls along, but so does a heavier AC/DC. These "issues" were on hand with "Wolfpakk" and "Cry Wolf" and they stroll around during the course of these 11 tracks. I will let you in on a dirty little secret though. What bothered me about Wolfpakk's debut and sophomore album doesn't bother me as much here. Yes these numbers will remind you of other bands but it likely won't matter as much to you either as here's the difference. This album flat-out ROCKS! Opener "Rider Of The Storm" kicks in with a heavy groove and fierce bounce and there was never a moment when I dared hit next! Not even once! The third time is the charm as Mark Sweeney and Michael Voss have finally assembled the perfect line-up with one greet track after another! Ted Poley sounds nice on hard rocker "Monkey On Your Back" and when Charlie Huhn (Foghat/, ex-Gary Moore) takes his turn on "Grizzly Man" everything seems right with the world once more! Along with Rick Altzi (Masterplan), Jean-Marc Viller (Callaway), Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Unisonic) and Michaela Schober these various guest vocalists give their all for the cause and for fans of sincere hard rock and heavy metal there's no need to keep searching for the perfect mix as it's right here! Catchy songwriting is one thing but when it's done by a who's who list like this that's a whole new ballgame! You can see the actual list of musicians involved below, but for my money "Rise Of The Animal" has a line-up bar none! Due out on April 14th, "Rise Of The Animal" proves that it is possible to strike a familiar cord and still strike it rich!



 "Rise Of The Animal" musicians:


Guitarists: Jeff Watson (Night Ranger), Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper), Bernie Torme (Ozzy Osbourne), John Norum (Europe), Doug Aldrich (ex-Whitesnake/Dio/Foreigner), Axel Rudi Pell, Martin Rauber.

Bassist: Bob Daisley (ex-Black Sabbath/Gary Moore), Al Barrow (Magnum), Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian).

Keys: Chris Ivo (Jaded Hear)


Bagpipes: Pablo Allen (Skiltron; Dudelsack)

Drums: Mike Terrana (Tarja Turunen), Mark Schulman (Billy Idol, Foreigner), Simon Philips (ex-Toto), Chris Slade (ex-AC/DC), Gereon Homann.

WolfPakk-Cry Wolf

AFM Records
2013 

It was back in late 2011 that I reviewed Wolfpakk's self-titled debut album. I remember that it was a cool concept, what with having countless guest musicians joining founding members Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) and Michael Voss (Mad Max, ex-Casanova), even if the album was not as good as it was billed to be. In a case of concept being better then the actual product, which seems to be the usual route these sort of multi-guest collaborations go, the band's self-titled album might not have been perfect, but it (admittedly) did have it's moments and I thought it was "cool". Not great or anything, but "cool". Now I find myself staring at album two from Wolfpakk and, just as it was back in 2011, Sweeney and Voss have enlisted countless guest musicians to help out. Also, just like it was on the first album, this pair is responsible for all the song-writing duties (with the except of one cover song by Rainbow) so, groove-wise, it does carry the same kind of flow as album number one. They (Voss and Sweeney) also had the last say when it came right down to what the final project would sound like since they were responsible (once again) for the album's production and mix. While the list of who did what on which particular song wasn't made available on the promo, which would have been nice, at least all of the guests were listed. That being the case I just did a quick little cut and past of that part so, if you're at all interested in seeing who all the guests were (and there are some interesting names on the guest list like Ralf Scheepers, Blaze Baley, Many Meyer and Tony Carey) just scroll down past this review. At the bottom I've also attached my review of their 2011 for comparison sake. OK, with all of that out of the way what does "Cry Wolf" have to offer? More of the same really. Album number one was a mix and match of hard rock & traditional heavy metal and so is "Cry Wolf". On Wolfpakk's brand new album you can expect to hear a slew of catchy numbers that, even with a different cast of characters (guests), sound's similar to the material on album number one. So, even with new guest musicians this time around,  Wolfpakk manages to strike a familiar pose on "Cry Wolf". If catchy hard rock/heavy metal with a (slight) 90's vibe sounds like something you might be interested in then "Cry Wolf" should be a easy call. Everything about it sounds professional and there is a lot of talent backing up Wolfpakk's two founding members. But, if you're looking for more of a gritty, heavy and loud sound out of your metal bands then Wolfpakk is not for you. This is the smooth sound of commercial hard rock/heavy metal so it's target audience isn't going to be the Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and Megadeth crowd. That is unless you're the type of person who likes both ends of the spectrum (commercial and noncommercial metal) in which case I'd say go for it. Either way this is another good album from a band/project that has a lot going for it. 

Vocals:
Amanda Somerville (Kiske/Somerville), Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Göran Edman (Ex-Yngwie Malmsteen), Johnny Gioeli (Axel Rudi Pell, Hardline), Doogie White (Ex-Rainbow, Michael Schenker), Tony Mills (Shy, TNT), Blaze Baley (Ex-Iron Maiden), Piet Sielck (Iron Savior), Jean-Marc Viller (Callaway)

Bass:
Mike Winkler (Session Musician)

Guitars:
Kee Marcello (Ex-Europe), Mandy Meyer (Krokus, Ex-Gotthard), Roland Grapow (Masterplan), Martin Rauber (Top4tea)

Keyboards:
Don Airey (Deep Purple), Tony Carey (Ex-Rainbow)

Drums:Gereon Homann (Eat The Gun), BrianTichy (Whitesnake /Ozzy), Hermann Rarebell (Ex-Scorpions), Roland Jahoda (Ex-Paradox, F.U.C.K.)

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