Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Big Bad Wolf
Label: Self-released
Release: 2018
Duration: 43:35
Rating: 4/5
The Big Bad Wolf plays plenty of roles in our everyday lives. Thanks mostly to his hearty appetite, he’s lodged himself in our memories especially well. You’ll find him in loads of fables and folk tales, and long ago Walt Disney even made his own version. Little Red Riding Hood and Aesop know him pretty well too, among others. Anyway, it was high time Slovenian metal and rock got one of their own. He’s taken shape in a five-piece outfit from Ljubljana, who this year gave birth to a studio debut stylishly titled »Outrage of Modesty«.
»Politely furious«, a shaggy beast full of howling barks, is more of a perfect hedonist and narcissistic rascal than an actual wicked menace, though he can be virtuously naughty, too. Well, at the very least, charmingly mischievous. Big Bad Wolf are big fans of old-school metal, both the British kind and old-school American speed and thrash metal (take the song Punisher). At the same time, over a decisive and remarkably confident 44 minutes, this ultra-bold debut sticks in the memory above all as an inspired homage to the great godfathers of rock’n’roll, the immortal Motorhead. Definitely an interesting musical mix for Venom fans too.
Twelve speed-fueled wrecking balls that make no compromises and leave no survivors. A great, lively and dynamic production, with a fired-up curtain of massive wall-of-sound guitar riffing and a rattling, tearing bass line as the counterweight, rolls along confidently on the chassis of torpedoing drums. Over all of it sits a guttural, snappy, nasal but unbelievably piercing and authoritative vocal, from which the occasional whiff of alcohol fumes drifts out. Sharp and uncompromising. But as said, it’s an extremely bold blend of the influences laid out in the second paragraph of this read. In that sense, Big Bad Wolf are old-school revivalists. »Outrage of Modesty« does show some signs of beginner’s naivety, the source of which in the songwriting is of course a heartfelt urge to prove themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But those moments are very few, which is commendable given we’re talking about a studio debut. At the same time, considering the stylistic unity and focus of the band’s musical dossier, it could have been a touch shorter for the running time on offer (two tracks shorter, to be exact).
The band comes at you with fire, and in the playing you can feel the huge charge and commitment of the quintet, who put up with no studio primping or cosmetics, nor with »gloriously soaring« highly musical melodies that would come off in any way pompous or bombastic. It’s a raw, stripped-down, hooligan attack with an excellent mix of old-school metal elements, underpinned by the rock’n’roll kinetics of the rhythm section. It’s not hard to tell that Big Bad Wolf are already managing to carve out a recognizable musical groove on their debut, and that’s hugely important for building the musical track record the band stands behind. They don’t bring a musical revolution, but they come across as incredibly convincing, heartfelt and fresh. Even if Big Bad Wolf belonged to the generation that got NWOBHM and/or American old-school speed/thrash metal on its feet, they wouldn’t play much differently.
The quintet is extremely tight, and calibrated to the same wavelength in terms of musical direction. Five members breathing for the same cause, and that single-minded focus is easy to feel in both the playing and the songwriting. As a debut, »Outrage Of Modesty« is a hugely cohesive, strictly focused, high-octane firestarter that carries everything the metal »indecency« of a rebellious premise should carry, and everything a potent dose of rock’n’roll hooliganism demands. Both at once, in other words. The guys clearly picked the songs for the debut with care. The instrumental passages in the mid-eight sections prove it, as do the guitar ornaments over some of the phrases. »Outrage of Modesty« brings a fat bundle of dynamite sticks, with which you can properly comb your hair and clean out your ear canals. A debut as it should be, in other words. As the opening step in the career of a young and promising band, it’s an extremely solid foundation, and let’s hope the band builds on it and keeps maturing in the future.
Lineup
David Arnand Rajapakse – vocals
Andrej Golja – guitar
Rok Kogoj – guitar, backing vocals
Damjan Rajapakse – bass guitar
Stane Zupančič – drums
Production
Matej Srebrnič & Stane Zupančič
Tracklist
1. Dingo Fever (02:46)
2. Bow to Your King (03:46)
3. Ocean of Madness (03:07)
4. Cider Hammer (03:52)
5. Punisher (03:09)
6. Faith no More (04:40)
7. Release the Spiders (04:16)
8. Rattlesnake (03:43)
9. Rock ‘N’ Roll Love (03:42)
10. Belgrade 41 (04:03)
11. Big Bad Wolf (03:27)
12. Colours of the Night (02:57)
