Rooooaaaaaaaar
This young pack of wolves from Toronto released this EP back in February are a pretty enjoyable traditional metal band with very awesome chops. Led by the charismatic guitarist Cyndi Zhang who's as sexy as talented, Call of the Wild once again proves that Toronto is the heavy metal Mecca of Canada. The Chinese immigrant has composed everything in the purest Steveharriseque version and this really helped for the cohesive feel of the extended play.
The
four songs, seventeen minutes release is driven by powerful &
precise leads delivered by Zhang and Tom Stanley who are a quite nice
guitar duo. Bordering on shred, the solos are definitely one of the
highlights of their sound. They got nothing to envy to the legendary
bands and compared to many “OH MY GOD SOLOHS!” bands like
Dragonforce, their solos are substantial and they have this natural
vibe. Their riffs are very solid as well, it's pretty damn fast and
they keep things interesting during the numerous leads. The
beginning of “Young Wolves Rising” has these pretty awesome
leads, encompassing epicness within its traditional length. The band
has the skills to pull off more intricate material and I wish they'll
expand their sound in this direction. They could certainly pull off
six or seven minutes tracks with ease.
Not
as vintage as their city brothers of Axxion or Phantom, the NWOBHM
influence is still there but the band has an unequivocal modern feel
a bit like Skull Fist has. There's a big speed metal influence too
CotW's vocals are not as sugary and not as high. Power Serg's
delivery is forceful and manlier than some other singers of similar
bands who sometimes could be mistaken for eunuchs if their jeans
weren't tight. He's pretty good and sings the decent, entertaining
lyrics written by Zhang,
he's yet another very good tool that the band has.
The
four songs are all around the four minutes mark, there's no fillers
and no ballads. The catchiest track is the shortest one “Hang 'Em
High” with its short bass lead at the start. The Canadians are very
tight and not only the lead guitarists are competent, the rhythm
section as well.
Unfortunately, In a really competitive heavy metal market, nothing really stands out in their music, nothing sucks either. It's generic but very professional and worth the time if you're a fan of the genre and definitely worth what you can give them on Bandcamp. Solid stuff but I feel they have yet to find their true identity, let's wait for their first full length, I'm sure it will be pretty awesome.
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