(Heavy Metal) [CD] Wolfpakk - Дискография: 2011-2015, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The main men behind this melodic metal project are Michael Voss (ex-Casanova) and Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball). Both gentlemen have been friends for a long time and one of their long-time dreams was the making of an album together. The last time the two worked together was when Sweeney recorded his 2nd solo album in 2009 with Voss behind the producer’s desk. The plans for the making of a melodic metal album were devised back then. They agreed to invite the best possible musicians from the hard rock and metal world to perform songs especially written for them. Having made a lot of friends throughout his career, it wasn’t that difficult for Voss to contact the musicians he wanted and in a very short time he gathered around 30 musicians who would participate. “Wolfpakk” features 11 songs written by Voss/Sweeney, who also signed for the mix and the production. Both rockers share vocal parts in each of the songs with a guest vocalist. Passing in review this way are Mark Fox (Shakra), Mark Boals (Malmsteen), Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot), Paul Di’Anno (Iron Maiden), Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman), Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) and Ripper Owens (Judas Priest) a.o. Among the supporting musicians are the guitarists Torsten Koehne, Tommy Denander, Freddy Scherer and Olaf Lenk, the bass players Tony Franklin, Mat Sinner and Neil Murray and the keyboarders Alessandro Del Vecchio and Ferdy Doernberg. And the result, I hear you ask? Well, although I won’t discuss the potential, I’m not that impressed. What I hear is certainly not bad, but certainly not world class altogether. Something that bothers me is the changeable quality of the songs. Quite simple is a (typical Teutonic) shout-along song like “The Crow”, that features Paul Di’Anno. Not my cup of tea. Luckily enough it’s followed by a short instrumental and a far better “Let Me Die”, with Jeff Scott Soto sharing the vox with Voss and Sweeney. But given enough spins, it could be that I’ll like this Wolfpakk more in the future.

#777The Roaring Wolves are back… On a strong wake of a surprising and a triumphal album in 2011, that was much simply called “Wolfpakk”, the turbulent duo of vocalists comprised of Mark Sweeney (ex-CRYSTAL BALL) and Michael Voss (MAD MAX/MSG / ex-CASANOVA) unleash the successor, named "Cry Wolf" , and again the choral all-star project shift is the trick to give a marketing format for this burning platter, by gathering a pack of many high-class guest musicians and a few full blooded terrific barking voices to produce another raving record in the same musical vein as the great and self-titled debut.

Running and undaunted Guests on "Cry Wolf" are :

Vocals: Amanda Somerville (AVANTASIA), Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR / ex-GAMMA RAY), Göran Edman (ex-RISING FORCE / ex-GLORY), Johnny Gioeli (A.R.P. / HARDLINE), Tony Mills (ex-SHY/ ex-SIAM / ex-TNT), Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW / ex-RISING FORCE / ex-CORNERSTONE / MSG), Blaze Baley (ex-IRON MAIDEN / WOLFSBANE), Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR / ex-SAVAGE CIRCUS).

Guitars: Kee Marcello (ex-EUROPE / ex-EASY ACTION), Mandy Meyer (UNISONIC / KROKUS / ex-GOTTHARD / ex-COBRA), Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN / ex-HELLOWEEN).

Keys: Don Airey (ex-OZZY / DEEP PURPLE), Tony Carey (ex-RAINBOW).

Drums: Brian Tichy (SUN / ex-WHITESNAKE), Hermann Rarebell (ex-SCORPIONS), Roland Jahoda (ex-PARADOX / F.U.C.K.)

Under the leitmotiv of “if isn’t broken don’t fix it”, the Duet of Alpha Wolves and the fantastic AFM Records are teamed again in order to reedit the successful experience in giving the full and wild creative responsibility to the werewolf duet: the champions of Melodic Metal -Mister Sweeney and Doctor Voss.

They wrote all the songs together (minus one surprise cover version from RAINBOW “Run With The Wolf” featuring the participation of the iconic keyboard player Tony Carey) and they were also in charge once again, for production and mixing duty, and of course they performed some ferocious vocals. This is a work of art tremendously and carefully polished that put some lights in a brilliant manner to the songwriting talent of the savage binomial Voss / Sweeney.

The highlights of the albums are , the beginning track "Moonlight” with Ralf Scheepers who provide a very typical high flux of screaming and yelling, embellished by a fast pace and an epic dimension somewhere between HEAVENS GATE and MIND ODYSSEY with a little something from GAMMA RAY.

In the same melodic power frenzy, the solid "A Matter of Time" that sounds like VICTORY meets BONFIRE, boosted by a share of battling vocals between Sweeney and Johnny Gioeli with an uplifting performance, courtesy of Mr. Brian Tichy beating his drum kit.

"Palace of Gold" reveals a new heaviness and a dark density before transforming in a more pompous style than usual with the participation to the voice of Tony Mills and a massive multi-layer backing vocal section choir, like a symphonic version of DIO merged with a delicate and fragile Prog Rock melody.

Another fast double kick power number is "Beast In Me" with the always classy singing of Goran Edman, recalling that he was the singer for RISING FORCE / SPACE ODYSSEY / STRATOSPHERE and for 1999’s third album “The Last Viking” by The JOHANSSON BROTHERS and a true Neoclassical expertise demonstration in the lead spot provided by Roland Grapow.

Then it's time for a real entertaining Teutonic Metal with an Hard Rock touch cut named "Pressure Down" with the very distinctive voice of Doogie White which is highlighted in a mid tempo heavy rhythm , and a strong sing along headbanging refrain with a great gang backing vocal unit, like ACCEPT meets SINNER with an extensive ad lib howling final.

The rest of the tracklisting is also enjoyable mixing a few gimmick True Metal tracks as a simple sing along hymn as "Wakken" in the HAMMERFALL / IRON SAVIOR / RUNNIG WILD and obliviously ACCEPT's fashion (…"bang your head…Metal attack"…) or the less catchy but energetic, epic, tortuous and poignant title track "Cry Wolf" that extend to ten minutes with atmospheric sequence, special FX surreal sounds like wind and rain plus a few narrative parts in with a very surprising vocal interpretation of Blaze Bayley and a ultra-fast shredding piece of lead guitar signed by the one and the only, the other Swedish maestro Mr. Kee Marcello himself for a big fat guitar lesson and a serious beating .

Before that we had a ballad with Mrs. Somerville but I think it's just a flat and ordinary number, very caricaturish, in a not really inspired style, before that it was the moment for the WOLFPAKK's leaders to be left alone in the vocal department at least, Voss / Sweeney are dueling in the single, a quite regular Euro Metal cut under the moniker of "Dark Revelation"…Not my favorite.

The cover version of a legendary classic rock track, is as always, a double edged sword but secured with the approval and the additional playing of the early RAINBOW's keyboardist Tony Carey, to keep it in the right path, in this case "Run With The Wolf" is a good revision lightened in its rhythmic cadence structure as a result we have a more pompous rendition, with obviously the Hammond keyboards quite upfront.

Finally, the album is the perfect sequel of the highly acclaimed debut; this sophomore episode fulfilled the dangerous task, with maybe a less impressive guest list but with a real focus on bringing back, proudly and under one united flag, the old nature of the pure roaring Euro-Metal mania.

#777For the third time the roaring Wolves are back, the Hard Rock/melodic Metal allstar pack, led by the turbulent duo of vocalists Mark Sweeney (ex CRYSTAL BALL) and Michael Voss (MAD MAX/MSG/CASANOVA), will release the last part of their successful triptych entitled “Rise Of The Animal“ on February 27th.

The duet of Alpha Wolves are still working as a perfect creative team with the same focus and the original spirit is still intact: The high-class traditional Heavy sound, their songwriting abilities and their connections in the biz are the main attractive and the obvious common point with each WOLFPAKK releases. Since day one, the concept of this amazing project was to reveal the essential talent of Voss & Sweeney with some high level musical performances, and to let the world knowing it by adding maybe an enlightenment provided by the reputation and the notoriety of the famous guests of players and singers.

The talented binomial of Voss / Sweeney wrote all the songs together except for the lubricious hit-single “Sock It To Me” and the title track that was made with the helping hand of Axe player Martin Rauber (he’s also in charge of all the guitars in “High Roller”), they were also responsible for the production and the mixing duties, and of course they performed some ferocious lead vocals in duet or trio with the sublime collaboration of a famous bunch of Metal screamers.

This new masterpiece is tremendously polished and carefully produced, after two excellent releases, the main problem is to reach the same degree of perfection, but their commitment for their art and their dedication was decisive in the triumphal result and yes, once again the guest list is vertiginous and expansive to the point of insanity, featuring talented current and former musicians from just about every renowned band in the Hard Rock and Power/Classic Metal genre!

Running under the strong wake of their previous remarkable works and the success of their first acclaimed albums, they use the same subtle recipe: A first class Hard Rock choral project influenced by the old nature of the pure Euro Metal sound. The opening track is clearly spawned from their initial method, like a ACCEPT meets PRIEST in a fury of demented drums fills courtesy of the Mohawk Heavy hitter Mike Terrana. This time the whole sound design is more tagged in the 80’s sing along orientation, maybe a little less Germanic than the early albums, even if the pace is keeping its fast tradition, of course some part of the tunes are especially crafted for the guest vocalists, like the chorus of the Sleaze Metal anthem “Monkey On Your Back”, which is clearly designed for the Ted Poley vocal style, the Hair Metal impression is even reinforced by the Guitar solo of CASABLANCA leader Ryan Roxie. One of the highlights is of course the Epic “Highlands” even if I think that the voice of the almighty Joe Lynn Turner is underemployed, the song is clearly a winner!

”we are predators…Against the wind and rain – we carry on” those words are coming from the magnificent and touching “Black Wolf” featuring the hyper-talented Rick Altzi, which is also a very interesting number, the trio of voices is matching perfectly in this pieces that starts with an acoustic intro… The gang backing vocal chorus is particulary efficient… Superbly Heavy; another essential tune! Swedish champion John Norum is giving his six strings maximum, for the very predictable double kick driven cut “Somewhere Beyond” with also the ubiquitous David Reece on Vocals!

The next track contains some great performances by Don Dokken & Doug Aldrich and as always some clever arrangements but the best is yet to come. The most outstanding moment of the albums is the epic “Rise Of The Animal”, with the impressive Mr Kiske who provide his typical high flux of ultrasonic pitch yelling, embellished by a fast pace and a dramatic dimension, a melodic power frenzy somewhere between HELLOWEEN and PRIMAL FEAR with a little something from RAGE. At the final slot, the track “Universe” is somewhat ordinary even if the soprano vocals of Miss Michaela Schober are quite good, I can’t connect with the melodic stream and the shift of style!

Finally, “Rise Of The Animal” is another chapter for this highly acclaimed project, a perfect sequel for their trilogy ,but it’s not the end… I heard about a fourth episode and who knows maybe one day a live presentation… I wish and pray the gods for this eventuality.