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On the Radar: Wolfshead

Posted in On the Radar on August 2nd, 2012 by JJ Koczan

“I used to want to be a man of substance/Instead, I’m just a man of substances.” — Wolfshead

That’s a good line, and it arrives in due form on the track “The Garden” from UK doom/sludge duo Wolfshead‘s self-titled debut EP. The twosome of drummer/bassist/vocalist Leigh McSharry and guitarist/vocalist Mart Anthony bill the quickie four-tracker as “garage doom,” and though one hardly gets a sense of what that means from “The Garden,” which lurches forth at a marked crawl and is topped by deathly growls, but “Pissin’ Blood,” which follows, or opener “Warbringer,” which precedes, give some better indication, relying as they do on faster pacing and a more rock-based groove.

To that end, “Warbringer”‘s an absolute toe-tapper, and the backing gang vocals only add to its upbeat throb. The mix on the EP is raw, but clear and professional nonetheless, and if the shifts between the first three tracks of Wolfshead‘s Wolfshead set you up to think closer “Death Priest” is going to be another switch to grime-covered doom — that would make the release four songs: rock, doom, rock, doom — you’re only half right. McSharry and Anthony cut the pace, but instead of death-dooming out, they indulge a kind of heavy ’90s-style sub-psych, heavier guitar kicking in with the chorus following a more open-sounding verse.

As they manage to cover more stylistic ground over the space of four songs/16 minutes than most bands do in their career, I feel relatively comfortable calling Wolfshead a good beginning for the band. The EP came out in March, but I wanted to post the tracks in case anyone else might have missed them at the time. Here they are via the Wolfshead Bandcamp page:

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