Swedish threesome WOLVER have been a going entity for a handful of years or thereabouts, developing a distinct image and their music at their own pace before making themselves a bit more visible in 2020. Following a couple of singles the band launched their debut album “Act I: It Starts With a Bow” through Swedish label Rexius Records in the fall of 2020.
Wolver cites Muse, Queens of the Stone age and Queen as their main sources of inspiration, and remnants and traces of the former two in particular are undeniable from the moment this album kicks off. The lead vocals and the groove-oriented, circulating guitar riffs used throughout much of the album will sound really familiar to fans of Queens of the Stone Age, while fans of Muse probably will nod in recognition when more majestic and intricate sequences starts developing, and again with lead vocals that carry on something of the identity of this band as well here and there. While some songs have strong similarities either to one or the other, Wolver manages to combine these flavors pretty often as well, and the end result sounds a lot better than many would guess from this as a description I surmise.
There’s also a theatrical element to this production, as well as an overall sound that often will look back to the 1970’s for additional flavoring. It is in these aspects of the album I find some striking resemblances to Queen, alongside the non-conformist structure on a select few cuts, with the circus and rock going cabaret and vaudeville excursion of ‘Once a Puppet, Now a King’ as the prime example of just that. But the most striking resemblance to Queen can be found in the ballads, both of which see the lead vocalist and for one of them the backing vocalists as well go into an almost full blown Queen mode of delivery in pitch, tone and harmonies. The first of the ballads, ‘Alike the Third Secret’, also concludes on what might or might not be a specific but subtle nod in the direction of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
Just how much or not you’ll find this album enjoyable pretty much boils down to a couple of core issues. If you like art-tinged hard rock with something of a stoner foundation you are in luck, and if you don’t mind listening to a band not afraid to include sounds, riffs and melody patterns that gives you instant associations to other artists this album should fit you well too. That this is a conceptual creation is also one of those factors that will either inspire interest or disinterest. For my sake I find this to be a well made, energetic and suitably interesting production. A solid debut album, and one that in my mind deserves a bit more interest that it seems to have managed to draw in so far. A well made example of art-oriented hard rock with a stoner rock foundation and subtle progressive rock desires, and an album worth a check by those who find this description intriguing.
My rating: 79/100
Links:
https://wolver-band.com/
https://www.rexiusrecords.com/
