Anthems of Resistance is the debut album from Austrian thrash metal band Wolfpack Unleashed. After forming in 2005, the following year they released their demo which gained the attention of Austrian metal label Napalm Records.This Austrian quartet cites Metallica as a main influence, which doesn’t really mean anything when you consider the amount of bands in the metal genre that are influenced by Metallica, and who, in comparison, sound like a bunch of four year olds bashing about on their toy instruments. To put it rather bluntly, if you are a serious band and you note Metallica in your list of influences then you had better be damn good!
Thrash is a difficult genre to be playing in this day and age. To steal a quote from the band themselves “All [of the] classic thrash riffs have been written before” and so most bands run into one of two forms of criticism; either the thrash metal elitists will complain that it isn’t true thrash if you make any attempt to evolve, or else you emulate your thrash heroes of yore and the rest of the world will argue that it is nothing more than rehashed Slayer/Metallica riffs. Wolfpack Unleashed seems to strike an even balance between the two. Some of the riffs on “Next Victim” could have easily fitted on the Megadeth – Peace Sells album while there is some Testament-esque guitar work on “Killing Fields” and “Wolfpack Unleashed”, which is inundated with guitar solos. The speed and aggression of early Metallica is married with the kind of complexity evident in the likes of Dark Tranquillity. Frontman Gunther Wirth has a distinctive vocal style that is incredibly easy to listen to, which reminds me partly of James Hetfield circa the “Black Album” era. Although his voice isn’t note perfect, there is a great deal of melody in his richly toned voice that sits well with the music and will give Wolfpack Unleashed a great edge over similar bands.
Anthems of Resistance is a dynamic debut that pays more than a tribute to their 80’s thrash predecessors, whilst being unafraid to experiment with a number of styles and sounds, from “Religion of Control” which is infiltrated with an Eastern flavour, to the slightly blackened elements of “To Challenge Death”. Flawless production compliments the modern touch these nine songs carry. A commendable effort from a promising newcomer.