To The Wolves is a melodic metalcore band from Almere/Lelystad, The Netherlands.
The band was founded in June 2015 with ex-members from Merge As One and Prevent The Fall, after which they did two try-out shows. They say that they are influenced by bands like: Intervals, Novelists, While She Sleeps and This Or The Apocalypse. When they first started To The Wolves, they did two try-out shows after which the band decided to take a step back to write an EP before ‘diving into the scene’ as they describe it themselves.
So here it is: “Morals”, a five-song EP which contains furious metalcore with melodic elements and catchy choruses. I can almost hear you think: “what’s new about that? Been there, done that!” Well, I can say: “Try not to jump to the conclusions and give them a chance, you might be surprised.”
Let us give the actual album a listen.
The first track ‘Pulse’ is a sort of intro that makes your pulse rate a bit higher. It starts electronic and is taken over by a brutal riff and it has that menacing but also expecting feeling to it. It is fluently flowing over in the next track ‘Voices’ where we instantly hear the screams of Youri. The energy of this song knocks you off your socks. Up-tempo riffs interspersed with the occasional breakdown. During the fade-out there is, again, a subtle hint of electronic sounds.
‘Rampage’ is just what the song-title says, a rampage right from the start. But a controlled rampage. Beautiful melodic guitar-lines carry the emotional cargo of this song. At approximately two minutes there is a very interesting break. And the mandatory *blech!!!* is also present.
The EP rages forth with ‘Manipulation’ again a song that has all elements that you may expect from a melodic metalcore-band. And that bass at the end of the song, just wow! Now about the clean vocals; not bad, not bad at all…. I have heard many bands where the cleans are not so pure and sometimes even out of tune. That is not the case with To The Wolves, it sounds great.
Last song ‘Unity’ is, for me, the highlight of the album. I know that that is just a matter of taste but I am in love with the chorus. You could call it subtle bombastic.
Conclusion: does To The Wolves meet the expectations with this EP? I can say wholeheartedly yes! No not everything is new, but who cares. There are enough ‘new’elements to keep it interesting. I have written a lot of metalcore reviews and I can tell you that TTW is not a ‘thirteen in a dozen’band. I know that I am going to follow these guys. I am very curious what the future will bring.
Rating: 8/10
Written by: René Woning
Tracklist:
1. Pulse (1:38)
2. Voices (3:43)
3. Rampage (3:01)
4. Manipulation (3:36)
5. Unity (3:59)
Band members:
Youri – Vocals
Tim – Guitar/Vocals
Karim – Guitar
Maurice – Bass
Jeffrey – Drums
Discography:
“Morals” EP (2016)
Record label: Unsigned, July 2016
Weblinks: Facebook
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Unity’
Video for ‘Rampage’