ALBUM REVIEW: The Path Of Wrath – Wolf King

San Francisco’s Bay Area has been the epicentre of some of the best and most blistering heavy metal for decades. Over the years, the long-time home of METALLICA has also produced the legendary likes of EXODUS, POSSESSED and DEATH ANGEL. It’s from this proud tradition of innovative and often abrasive metal that WOLF KING have emerged to grab the scene by the throat.

The Path Of Wrath is the four-piece’s second full-length album. It follows 2018’s Loyal To The Soil, a fierce, fiery 43 minutes of blackened hardcore with further extreme metal influences. That remains very much the blueprint this time around too, if anything with the metal turned up even more. The results make for a veritably vicious feast that touches on doom, hardcore, black metal, death metal, and more. It’s an approach not too far removed from the excellent CONJURER, in the sense of throwing a whole lot of heavy at the wall and seeing most of it stick. Admittedly that’s more a comparison of ethos and overall feel than of direct sonic similarity, but there is a sense that if you like that band you’ll probably find a fair bit to enjoy here.

It’s no great surprise that The Path Of Wrath is largely unrelenting in its savagery. It kicks off with a run of tracks which give listeners practically zero let-up. Opener River Of Light slams straight in with a massive, doom-laden riff that should have heads banging immediately. From here, WOLF KING take listeners on a tour of all things visceral. Second track Messenger Of Death tears along with driving D-beats and moments of slower, more hefty stomp and bounce. Wandering Soul after it leans into more blackened territory, with frosty tremolo picked leads and rapid blast beats. This track still features some serious groove too, as do Triumph Of The Slain and Sanctuary which follow.

It’s fair to say that everything the band are drawing from has been around for a while, but WOLF KING manage to inject it all with enough energy and ferocity that it still feels fresh. Vocalist Tim Wilson brings his A-game in particular. For the most part, he opts for high screams which add an ice-cold blackened feel to whatever’s happening behind him. At points he’s even joined by guitarist Jacob Broughton‘s more guttural backing vocals, which only accentuate the carnage. Broughton‘s guitar work stands out too. His playing is nicely varied, flitting from crushing riffs to solid, no-frills lead work as the rhythm section holds things down in the background.

It isn’t until the album’s sixth track The Oath that the band give listeners a real chance to breathe. This one opens with lone, relatively clean guitars from Broughton. Bassist Brian Mojica soon joins him, followed by the building toms of drummer Connor White. This relatively fleeting break comes at just the right time, ensuring listeners aren’t numb to the blackened chaos which follows. More quiet comes later, turning The Oath into surely the most dynamic song on the record, and a definite highlight.

The Path Of Wrath doesn’t drop off in its second half either. Instead, WOLF KING keep the ragers coming. The album’s seventh and title track makes for another highlight, while ninth track Grief Portrait may be the best of all. This is another more dynamic track which still ticks all the violent boxes. It also sees the band introduce more melodic elements, with clean vocals from one of Wilson or Broughton. These are a welcome inclusion that help maintain interest this far into a long record, and give the song a real epic feel.

Grief Portrait puts the band firmly on the home straight, with Beholder, Holy Serpent and Eternal Hunger closing things out. None of these take any sharp left turns, but at no point do WOLF KING drop the ball either. Overall, The Path Of Wrath makes for 53 minutes of solid and ferocious extreme music. Some may find it a touch too long, but there aren’t really any weak tracks one could point to for removal. Every song features plenty of energy and ideas, and all of them are of a high standard. The production’s good, the riffs are huge, and the flow is strong. Crucially, The Path Of Wrath is a record that will keep listeners’ heads banging even as the final riff of the album’s closer fades to black, and that’s just about all you need for this kind of thing.

Rating: 8/10

The Path Of Wrath is set for release on March 5th via Prosthetic Records.

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