Album Reviews

From la douce France, come Direwolves. These guys have been roaming around as a pack since 2011 and have previously released an EP called “Me From Myself, To Banish”. It took them three years to release a follow-up but the wait is over with Throatruiner releasing the band’s first full-length, “Aegri Somnia”.

The direwolf apparently is the kind of beast that likes its hardcore pummeling. Tracks like “The Blindness That Keeps You Warm”, “Holy Treason” and the short “Face The Facts” come with relentless drums, metallic riffs and crunchy breakdowns. What sets Direwolves apart from a lot of the other hardcore bands out there is that they are not just about the breakdowns and chuggachugga riffage. They take some interesting turns with swirling riffs that pop up out of nowhere and then disappear again into the metallic maelstrom. And while things always remain heavy as fuck, these guys will just as well throw in some more atmospheric post-metal vibes that help lift the whole album to the next level. This perhaps is the most obvious in the gloomy and doomy “Keep It Clear”.

One of the more pleasant surprises I’ve come across this year… in case you haven’t heard of these guys before, do yourself a favor and check out “Aegri Somnia”!