Self-released:
Year of release: 2018
Production: Matej Srebrnič & Stane Zupančič
Album length: 43.35 min
Genre: Heavy Metal
The big bad wolf plays plenty of roles in our everyday lives. Thanks to his hearty appetite in particular, he’s burned himself into our memory. You’ll find him in loads of fables and folk tales, and Walt Disney cooked up his own version back in the day. Little Red Riding Hood and Aesop know him pretty well too, of course. Anyway, it was high time Slovenian metal and rock got one of their own. He’s taken shape as a five-piece outfit from Ljubljana, who this year gave birth to a studio debut stylishly titled »Outrage of Modesty«.
“Politely furious”, shaggy and brimming with howling barks, this beast is more of a total hedonist and narcissistic scamp than an actual evil menace, though he can be virtuously naughty in any case. Well, at the very least, charmingly mischievous. Big Bad Wolf are big fans of old-school metal, both the British kind and the old-school American speed and thrash (take the track Punisher, for example). Over the course of a decisive and remarkably confident 44 minutes of playing, this boldest of debuts sticks in the memory above all as an inspired homage to the great godfathers of rock’n’roll, the immortal Motorhead. It’s definitely an interesting musical mix for Venom fans too.
Twelve speed demolishers, no compromises and no survivors left behind. The excellent, lively and dynamic production, with its fired-up curtain of a massive wall of guitar riffage and a rattling, tearing bass line as a counterweight in the soundscape, rolls along steadily on the chassis of torpedoing drums. Woven through all of it is a throaty, snappily nasal yet incredibly piercing and authoritative vocal, from which the odd whiff of alcohol fumes occasionally rises. Sharp and uncompromising. But, as said, this is an extremely bold blend of the influences described in the second paragraph of this read. In that sense, Big Bad Wolf are old-school revivalists. »Outrage of Modesty« does still show some signs of beginner’s naivety, generated in the composing by a heartfelt desire to prove themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But there are very few of those moments, which is commendable considering we’re talking about a studio debut. At the same time, given the stylistic unity and focus of the band’s musical dossier, it could have been a touch shorter in the running time on offer (two tracks shorter).
The band comes at you with fire, and in the playing you can feel the huge charge and commitment of the quintet, who can’t stand any studio primping and cosmetics, nor “gloriously soaring” highly musical melodies that would come across as in any way pompous or bombastic. This is a raw, stripped-down, hooligan-style assault of an excellent mix of old-school metal elements, underpinned by the rock’n’roll kinetics of the rhythm section. It’s not hard to see that Big Bad Wolf already manage to carve out a recognizable musical groove on their debut, and that’s hugely important in building up the musical dossier the band stands behind. They don’t bring a musical revolution, but they sound incredibly convincing, heartfelt and fresh. Even if Big Bad Wolf belonged to the generation of vintage years that got NWOBHM and/or American old-school speed/thrash metal up on its feet, they wouldn’t play much differently.
The quintet is exceptionally tight, and calibrated to the same wavelength in the focus of their musical direction. All five members breathe for the same cause, and it’s not hard to feel that single-minded focus in the playing itself and in the writing of the material. As a debut, the album »Outrage Of Modesty« is a hugely cohesive, strictly focused, high-octane flammable that carries everything that metal “indecency” of a rebellious premise should carry, and everything a potent dose of rock’n’roll rascality demands. Both at once, in other words. The guys carefully polished the tracks for the debut. That’s also proven by the instrumental passages in the mid-eight sections, as well as the guitar ornaments over some of the phrases. »Outrage of Modesty« brings a whole fistful of dynamite sticks, perfect for giving your scalp a proper combing and cleaning out your ear canals. A proper debut, as it should be. As the opening step in the career of a young and promising band, this is an extremely solid foundation, and let’s hope the band keeps building on it and maturing in the future.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
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)
Lineup:
David Arnand Rajapakse – vocals
Andrej Golja – guitar
Rok Kogoj – guitar, backing vocals
Damjan Rajapakse – bass guitar
Stane Zupančič – drums
