When merited veterans of Norwegian Death/Black Metal conspire to breathe life into a new entity, you know you are in for a real treat.
ULVEHUNGER`s Retaliation, the outcome of a joint effort by L.J. Balvaz (BALVAZ/CADAVER/DISGUSTING) and K.B. Fletcher (DISGUSTING) together with none other than legendary Frost (SATYRICON/1349) and Anders Odden (CADAVER/ORDER/SATYRICON live) has Norwegian Death/Black Metal written all over it.
Tracks like “Desecrator”, “Consumed By Hate” or “Rise From The Shadows” convince with memorable riffs that are razor-sharp and remorselessly attacking yet melodious and melancholic at the same time. Pushed ahead by Frost`s unmistakable drumming and L.J. Balvaz`scornful sermons Retaliation is a dynamic, ravenous beast of an album.
Retaliation was recorded in Tomb studio (ORDER, WITCH CLUB SATAN) and produced by Anders Odden.
Mastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony.
ULVEHUNGER, despite being steeped in the tradition of classic outputs by compatriots CARPATHIAN FOREST, DARKTHRONE or GORGOROTH deliver without being a carbon-copy of said bands. ULVEHUNGER managed to create a worthy addition to the endless list of masterpieces from Norway no adherent of the genre can afford to miss out on.
Black tape with 5-panel j-card. Limited to 200 copies.
Okay, Ulvehunger may be a new band but their members are not: the band is formed by none other than Frost (Satyricon), Anders Odden (Cadaver), L.J. Balvaz (Disgusting and Balvaz) and K.B. Fletcher (Disgusting), so if you don’t know what to wait, come back to your black metal studies. That being said, first track Desecrator is top-notch True Norwegian Black Metal at its best, sticky riff, chorus, solos and all the brouhaha just like the subsequent Sacrifice that bleeds black metal and the take on it is simply unforgettable!
Leave Them In Disgrace is a tour de force into the realness of the style and while it is not the highlight of the album it delivers real stuff, so what else is new? Consumed by Hate it has a slightly different approach, following the all-out war formulae the band starts to reach its peak with the Bathory-esque riffs and astonishing solos and drum velocity! If you are not taken by this point, please, get out of black metal altogether and leave it to the true ones! Thanks! Castle Of Blood has a “modern” (ahem) take on Satyricon’s Dark Medieval Times, one that sounds more melancholic to that matter but the old school essence is there. Talking about melancholic, the number named Forces Of Doom lives up to its name and it’s pure fun…I mean, no fun (and no mosh), sorry! What a trip to the past! Damnit!
Declaration Of War lunges at the listener with ferocity and rusty hate in the mid-tempo to fast tempo savagery! It’s impossible to not love it and it really hits the nail right on the listener’s head! Following is the BEST song of the album, Rise From The Shadows. With a sticky chorus, violent approach, in-you-face attitude, aggressive drums, and buzzsaw guitars the track is an assertion of black metal purity!
Penultimate track The Mighty Pentagram is not subpar, and it brings fire, death and destruction to the fold while the last track Covenant of Pestilence brings mid-tempo (and occasionally fast) black metal and northern sadness with an excellent work of guitars
Retaliation is an album that has it all: classic musicians, classic sound, classic Black Metal. There’s no way one will ignore this release. In so doing one is switching himself/herself out of the style. If that’s the case, GTFO! AND FOAD!!!
Sample:
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