Lonewolf (FRA)

[Horex]

Lonewolf - The Fourth And Final Horseman (Digipak Edition) (2013)













Year : 2013
Style : Speed Metal , Heavy Metal , Power Metal
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 168 mb

Bio:

Lonewolf is a French power metal band formed by Jens and Walkyr in 1993. Lonewolf comes from the French south east city, Grenoble. The band was born in 1993 to split first in 1996.3 recordings were made during this era :The Dark Throne, 1992 tape just made to find some local gigs, was not distributed (Chris/Bass & Walkyr/Drums) The Calling, 1993 tape (Félix Börner/Lead guitar, Roland/Bass & Walkyr/Drums) Holy Evil, 1996 EP (Félix Börner/Drums, Stefan/Lead guitar & Roland/Bass). In 1996, the album "Children of the Unlight" was recorded, but it was never released. For 4 years, Lonewolf disappeared. In 2000 the band reformed with a self-produced full length CD, "March into the Arena".Thanks to this CD, Lonewolf became the first French metal band to play in Greece (Heavy Metal Holocaust in Athens) and to open for the very first gig of Grave Digger in France.Their second album was released in 2003, named Unholy Paradise. Their partnership with GOIMusic ended after the release of this second album.In 2008 their third album, Made in Hell was released by Greek label "Eat Metal Records", mixed and mastered by Eike Freese (from Dark Age) in Heike Studio, Hamburg.

Album:

It’s unfortunate that French heavy metal band Lonewolf’s sixth studio album had to be next on Happy Metal Guy’s reviewing list right after he reviewed this. But well, it’s too bad—that’s just how life is. When life splashes lemonade on you, use a pail to collect every drop of it dutifully, obtain citric acid crystals from it and use them to produce pesticide. Then, spray life in the face with the pesticide. So maybe Lonewolf should try to be as joyous and forward-looking as Happy Metal Guy and spin this meh review in their favor. Anyway, thanks to overwhelming carry-over effects this time round, not even a one-year break would have saved The Fourth and Final Horseman from the gallows.With a style as overdone and ancient as heavy metal, it’s never going to be easy to stand out from the crowd when a band adopts it. Sadly, this record is another one of those that has “forgettable” spelled all over its visual, lyrical and sonic faces. Lonewolf may pride itself on being a true-to-the-bone heavy metal band—their band members are clad in black leather and have long manes, the band logo tries to be symmetrical (only the ‘L’ and ‘f’ are), their lyrics deal with the occult, darkness, blah blah blah—but their particular manifestation of heavy metal just doesn’t work in this day and age.For the music, the only thing that mildly catches one’s attention is the vocals, and this is a bad thing, because the guitar riffs and lead guitar solos are typically the catchiest part of traditional heavy metal music. Lead vocalist Jens Börner has a rough singing voice that utilizes vibrato often, and together with frequent bouts of group singing, the vocals give the overall music a nice retro feel; nothing wrong in this department apart from it sounding too unvaried and dull at times. The guitars, however, sound too straightforward and hence, predictable. Sure, their riffs n’ solos may sound decently melodic, but they neither play around with rhythmic patterns enough nor engage in polyphonic conversations with the bass guitar. As a result, despite their melodiousness, they still end up sounding rather one-dimensional.The lyrics make mention of dark and scaaaary stuff like war, death, hell, dragons, skulls and wolves; though an angel is mentionedLone Wolf somewhere inside, probably to sooth the gravely spooked hearts of innocent and evil-fearing people like Happy Metal Guy. For example, there’s an utterly Manowar-ish song called “Time for War”, which has cheesy lines such as “Time for war! And time for glory!” that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Thor movie. And honestly, the guitar solo in this song sounds eargasmic, though the aural pleasure it induces is somewhat besmirched by the numerous eye-rolling proclamations of “Time for war!”Oh, the horrible artwork. The album title is placed in a really awkward position (and “final horseman” is strangely printed in larger font than the preceding words… what’s the purpose of this emphasis?) and the entire thing as a whole would look much better without the huge-ass band logo obscuring so much of the bottom-half of the artwork. The only positive thing to note about it is that the skeletal design of the horseman is apt, since the fourth horseman of the Christians’ idea of the Apocalypse is supposed to symbolize “Death”. But hey, if praising an accurate depiction of something is the only thing worth noting about the artwork, it really says a lot about its visual appeal.While the music isn’t too shabby, the cover artwork design and lyrics are—especially the latter. Playing traditional heavy metal nowadays is perfectly fine, but please don’t write lyrics based on romanticized concepts of humanity’s raison d’être and seem like you’re actually taking it seriously. So you wrote about a harbinger of the Apocalypse of Christian lore? Puh-leeze! Writing about, say, Xenu, the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy 75 million years ago, would have been something fresher and more fitting for the 21st century. Also, that would have instantly made Tom Cruise a fan and, by word-of-mouth, every alien in the observable universe one too!

Line Up:

Jens Börner - Vocals, Guitars (1992-1996, 2000-present)
Alex Hilbert - Vocals (backing), Bass (2006-2010), Guitars (lead) (2010-present) - See also: ex-Nightmare
Rikki Mannhard - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2010-present) - See also: ex-Altar, ex-Mystery Blue
Antoine "Tonio" Bussière - Drums (2009-present)

Tracklist:

01. The Fourth and Final Horseman 04:48
02. The Poison of Mankind 06:07
03. Hellride 03:55
04. Time for War 04:11
05. Another Star Means Another Death 04:25
06. Dragonriders 04:12
07. Guardian Angel 05:39
08. Throne of Skulls 03:53
09. The Brotherhood of Wolves 04:44
10. Destiny 07:41
11. Unknown Soldier 04:13 (Bonus Track)
12. Raise the Flag 04:33 (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Lonewolf - Cult Of Steel (2014)













Year : 2014
Style : Heavy Metal , Power Metal
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video
Size : 114 mb

Bio:

The history of Lonewolf, founded in Grenoble (France), began in 1992 From the beginning the band the True Heavy Metal had prescribed and published numerous demo tapes and a 7 "and even an album that was never released and as "The Lost album" is called. After a bitter disappointment with a French label located Lonewolf disbanded in 1996.In 2000, the band with the demo "March Into The Arena" returned, which was released as a debut album via Goi Music 2002 again.The second album "Unholy Paradise" followed two years later. "Made In Hell" appeared in 2008 via Eat Metal, followed by "The Dark Crusade" 2009 (via Kathargo Records / Killer Metal Records). The latest albums of the band "Army Of The Damned" (2012, Napalm Records) and "The Fourth And Final Horseman" (2013, Napalm Records).Lonewolf played first French metal band ever in Greece and opened for Grave Digger at their first show in France. In the last ten years Lonewolf played a headlining European tour with Dragon Fire and Iron Fate in 2011 and were also present at the "Wolf EU Nights Tour" in 2012 with Powerwolf, Stormwarrior and Mystic Prophecy. The band also played at countless festivals.

Album:

Having formed in 1992 out of Grenoble in France, metalheads Lonewolf – in spite of a four-year break from 1996 to 2000 – have remained prolific throughout their career; although more so since reforming.Cult Of Steel is the seventh offering from these guys since 2002 debut March Into The Arena, and you feel with these guys that if pushed, they could force an album out every week such is their fiery nature and the burning passion within their metal hearts.This is metal which does exactly what it says on the tin; indeed, the quintet very much hints at classic 80s metal – flirting with the same muscularity and fully armoured nuances which made the likes of Manilla Road, Manowar etc. so darn bestial. Lonewolf offers the subtlety of a hammer to the skull; evoking images of great battles, blazing skies, crumbling fortresses and days of yore – still fronted by battle beast extraordinaire Jens Börner, who continues to fly the flag for metal while other, less manly heroes fall around him. By his side Börner his aided in his quest by new drummer Bubu Brunner, lead guitarist Alex Hilbert (who previously played bass) and bassist Rikki Mannhard, and with that the band sets up its stall to gallop beyond the horizons and spread the word of metal into infinity.I doubt you’ll hear a record so metal this year; in fact, Lonewolf are so metal that they probably feel cheated not to have existed in the 80s when their fiery brand of sword-flailing mayhem may have been more appreciated. As it stands though, this new 12-track outing transcends all eras in its stubbornness. It is not interested in being anything else other than raging metal, which at times flirts with speed metal and power metal. Indeed, I can see the orcs of Hell clanking their swords to this as I speak, such is the macho belief and straightforward approach.There are some who may find the vocals a tad cheesy. Börner is the archetypal frontman, boastful in that he will free the princess from the clutches of evil and embed his flag of metal into every treacherous land he conquers, but at least he doesn’t beat about the bush. His masterful cries of war and fantasy are complemented wonderfully by the often galloping rhythms and as the leads soar out of the metal mire like giant birds ready to pounce on their prey, I feel it only necessary to dive into the storage cupboard and dig out my old battle jacket in order to join the army of believers.The sole reason that heavy metal as a genre has existed so long is because of bands such as Lonewolf who have never strayed from the path, in spite of those detractors who no doubt felt that the genre was stuck in a sort of dungeons ‘n’ dragons type void. And yet for every other genre and subgenre, there will always be a place for anthems such as ‘Hordes Of The Night’, ‘Werewolf Rebellion’, ‘Hell’s Legacy’, and ‘Force To Fight’ which, although may suggest limitations, also propose that in its purity metal should only be about the subjects covered here.While very much sticking to type, Cult Of Steel is very much beer-drinking, dragon-hunting, metal-madness that wants to be filed alongside the likes of Running Wild and no doubt will be long after Börner and company has slayed its last foe. Good stuff if you want it kept simple yet blazing like the fires in the night.

Line Up:

Jens Börner - Vocals & Guitars
Alex Hilbert - Lead Guitars & Backing Vocals (ex-Nightmare)
Rikki Mannhard - Bass & Backing Vocals (ex-Altar, ex-Mystery Blue)
Bubu Brunner - Drums (Black Hole, Syr Daria)

Tracklist:

01. The Cult of Steel 05:13
02. Hordes of the Night 04:12
03. Werewolf Rebellion 06:05
04. Blood of the Heretic 04:08
05. Hell's Legacy 04:27
06. Funeral Pyre 05:15
07. Force to Fight 04:51
08. Open Fire 04:20
09. Mysterium Fidei 05:45
10. The Grey Wolves 03:54




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Lonewolf - The Heathen Dawn (Limited Edition Digipak) (2016)













Year : 2016
Style : Power Metal , Speed Metal
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 114 mb

Bio:

The history of Lonewolf, founded in Grenoble (France), began in 1992 From the beginning the band the True Heavy Metal had prescribed and published numerous demo tapes and a 7 "and even an album that was never released and as "The Lost album" is called. After a bitter disappointment with a French label located Lonewolf disbanded in 1996.In 2000, the band with the demo "March Into The Arena" returned, which was released as a debut album via Goi Music 2002 again.The second album "Unholy Paradise" followed two years later. "Made In Hell" appeared in 2008 via Eat Metal, followed by "The Dark Crusade" 2009 (via Kathargo Records / Killer Metal Records). The latest albums of the band "Army Of The Damned" (2012, Napalm Records) and "The Fourth And Final Horseman" (2013, Napalm Records).Lonewolf played first French metal band ever in Greece and opened for Grave Digger at their first show in France. In the last ten years Lonewolf played a headlining European tour with Dragon Fire and Iron Fate in 2011 and were also present at the "Wolf EU Nights Tour" in 2012 with Powerwolf, Stormwarrior and Mystic Prophecy. The band also played at countless festivals.

Album:

France is not the first place I think of for traditional, keep it true, heavy metal. Overrated wine, impossible to make food, and dance music, yeah. But heavy power metal. Not so much. Then there's Lonewolf. They've been galloping about their native land and most of Europe for better than 25 years. They release their eighth studio album with The Heathen Dawn, still with Massacre Records.And not much has changed. Nothing really. The Lonewolf formula remains the same: riffs upon power chord riffs which create twin guitar harmony are pushed along with the galloping speed of a forceful rhythm section, and then accented by flaming guitar solos. Toss in Jens Borner's raspy, yet melodic, vocals and the rest of the band adding some gang vocals, and you have as sufficient summary of their sound. Many songs have a familiar start, Michael Hellstrom firing off some quick and slick leads as with Heathen Dawn and Song For The Fallen. And the pace rarely slows, though it does moderate on a few songs like When The Angels Fall or Until The End. But amidst the racing speed of the other songs, you'll barely notice. So that's pretty much it. Lonewolf remains one of the finest purveyors of true heavy/power metal in the best tradition, and The Heathen Dawn is another solid accomplishment. Up the irons and hail metal!

Line Up:

Jens Börner - Vocals, Guitars (1992-1996, 2000-present)
Rikki Mannhard - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2010-present) - See also: ex-Mystery Blue, ex-Altar
Michael Hellström - Guitars (2016-present) - See also: Elvenstorm
Bubu Brunner - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Black Hole, Syr Daria

Tracklist:

01. A Call to Wolfes
02. Wolfsblut
03. Demon's Fire
04. Keeper of the Underwolrd
05. When the Angels Fall
06. Until the End
07. Rise to Victory
08. Heathen Dawn
09. Into the Blizzard
10. The Birth of a Nation
11. Song for the Fallen
12. I Choose The Dark (Bonus Track)
13. Mother Faith (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Lonewolf - Raised On Metal (Limited Edition Digipak) (2017)













Year : 2017
Style : Power Metal , Speed Metal
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 114 mb

Bio:

The history of Lonewolf, founded in Grenoble (France), began in 1992 From the beginning the band the True Heavy Metal had prescribed and published numerous demo tapes and a 7 "and even an album that was never released and as "The Lost album" is called. After a bitter disappointment with a French label located Lonewolf disbanded in 1996.In 2000, the band with the demo "March Into The Arena" returned, which was released as a debut album via Goi Music 2002 again.The second album "Unholy Paradise" followed two years later. "Made In Hell" appeared in 2008 via Eat Metal, followed by "The Dark Crusade" 2009 (via Kathargo Records / Killer Metal Records). The latest albums of the band "Army Of The Damned" (2012, Napalm Records) and "The Fourth And Final Horseman" (2013, Napalm Records).Lonewolf played first French metal band ever in Greece and opened for Grave Digger at their first show in France. In the last ten years Lonewolf played a headlining European tour with Dragon Fire and Iron Fate in 2011 and were also present at the "Wolf EU Nights Tour" in 2012 with Powerwolf, Stormwarrior and Mystic Prophecy. The band also played at countless festivals.

Album:

As King Solomon said, There's nothing new under the sun. Or, what goes around comes around. Or, if it's not broken, don't try to fix it. Twenty five years going and France's Lonewolf returns with their ninth studio album, Raised On Metal. To say that the album is more of the same Lonewolf, just with different art work, is not to diminish the album, but to be truthful.There's not much to add to that. Simply, Lonewolf continues to bring "keep it true" heavy power metal. It's everything you would expect: aggressive, yet harmonious, twin guitar riffage, fiery solos, brisk pacing, and a steady thundering rhythm section. Guitarist and vocalist Jens Börner sings clean, but has something of a raw rasp to his voice. Unfortunately, however, his voice is slightly buried in the mix. And that's probably all the information you need. The songs don't need much explanation. There's ripping power metal with Dark World Order, Extinction Of The Stars, and the bristling Raised On Metal. For something slightly out of character, but not unusual for Lonewolf, there's some rising riffage at the start of Flight 19 that mimics orchestration. With the bonus track Swansong, Lonewolf stuffs the arrangement with a strong rock groove.Essentially, Raised On Metal is simply more of the same heavy power metal from Lonewolf. If you like what they've done in the past, then you will like this album. Just don't set your expectations to high.

Line Up:

Jens Börner - Vocals, Guitars (1992-1996, 2000-present)
Rikki Mannhard - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2010-present) - See also: ex-Mystery Blue, ex-Altar
Michael Hellström - Guitars (2016-present) - See also: Elvenstorm
Bubu Brunner - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Black Hole, Syr Daria

Tracklist:

01. Unleash The Wolf
02. Souls Of Black
03. Through Fire, Ice And Blood
04. Raised On Metal
05. Flight 19
06. Extinction Of The Stars
07. Evil
08. Skinless Smile
09. No God, No Master
10. Dark World Order
11. Swansong (Bonus Track)
12. Demon's Call (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Lonewolf - Division Hades (2CD) (Digipak Edition) (2020)













Year : 2020
Style : Power Metal , Speed Metal
Country : France
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 114 mb

Bio:

The history of Lonewolf, founded in Grenoble (France), began in 1992 From the beginning the band the True Heavy Metal had prescribed and published numerous demo tapes and a 7 "and even an album that was never released and as "The Lost album" is called. After a bitter disappointment with a French label located Lonewolf disbanded in 1996.In 2000, the band with the demo "March Into The Arena" returned, which was released as a debut album via Goi Music 2002 again.The second album "Unholy Paradise" followed two years later. "Made In Hell" appeared in 2008 via Eat Metal, followed by "The Dark Crusade" 2009 (via Kathargo Records / Killer Metal Records). The latest albums of the band "Army Of The Damned" (2012, Napalm Records) and "The Fourth And Final Horseman" (2013, Napalm Records).Lonewolf played first French metal band ever in Greece and opened for Grave Digger at their first show in France. In the last ten years Lonewolf played a headlining European tour with Dragon Fire and Iron Fate in 2011 and were also present at the "Wolf EU Nights Tour" in 2012 with Powerwolf, Stormwarrior and Mystic Prophecy. The band also played at countless festivals.

Album:

I think is would be fair to say at first listen, without knowledge you would say LONEWOLF come from the heart of Germany, they definitely have a Teutonic Speed/Power metal sound. But you would be wrong. These Metal maniacs are in fact French. Formed back in 1992, and splitting up in 96, before coming back stronger in 2000 to the present day, amassing an impressive back-catalog over the past 20 years.LONEWOLF are, in their words, True Metal. They are loud, fast, technical and heavy. As I mentioned their sound is very similar to a number of German Speed and Power Metal bands, and perhaps one in particular. There is a more than a passing similarity to another lupine inspired band. Hardly surprising when you know the album was mixed and mastered by Charles Greywolf of POWERWOLF. Their sound is very similar but with a bit of a harder edge than their god bothering wolf pack brethren. But the tropes are there, the choral chanting, church organs, the bombast, gruff but clear vocals, they also have a wolf on the album cover, but their wolf is a LONEWOLF, dressed as a gladiator rising up from a demonic hoard (his division of hades no doubt). No wolves dressed as clerics or monks and not so much of the heavy iconography.So what is their 10th album like? From the opening track “The Last Goodbye”, with its guitar and chanting with the spoken intro. A slow burn to kick off, but soon powering on (I was trying to think what the wolf equivalent of galloping is) through to the last track of the new stuff “Drowned In Black” the quality doesn’t drop, all the songs here are equally as good as the next.There are 10 new songs and 10 older tracks here, so I’m not going through each one, but some of the highlights of the new stuff include the title track “Division Hades”, which is as heavy as it gets, put the Power in Power Metal. “Manilla Shark”, a tribute to the MANILLA ROAD man Mark “The Shark” Shelton. The pair of “To Hell and Back (InstuMETAL)” and “Alive” are the strongest point of the album, they showcase the twin guitar ferocity, and melody, and are a punchy attack to the guts.The production on all the new songs is crisp and balanced, the gruff nature of the vocals suits the music so well, the guitars soar over a rail-gun precision timed drum beat, and yes there is even bass in there if you seek it out!The only slight critisum is there isn’t a lot of light and shade. The intro at the beginning and the short instrumental interlude, and “Drowned In Black’s” less bombastic bits, it would have perhaps benefitted from one slow, or even mid-paced song, this would have probably made the album a 10, rather than the 9 it gets.So we begin disc 2 in a similar fashion, although in this case “The Call” is the intro. Here we get rerecording’s of some of the bands earliest songs. There is some fine fretwork on display here, “Into Battle We Ride” is an excellent example of this, the question is how much of this is the excellence of the band who did the re-recoding or the material? Well I suppose you cannot polish a turd, but I have to say the bonus track are mostly as good and in some cases better, simply because the songs have a vibrancy and the guitar work is to the next level. I think also most of the songs on the bonus disc are a little shorter, which gives them a bit more urgency. Also there is a few more gear changes, for example “Forgotten Shadows” is a more mid paced song, and has a bit of a MAIDEN vibe in the guitar work, the pace give the song power.“1789” has a real stein swilling, air punching swagger about it. Yes it has a bit of a RUNNING WILD feel, but again the guitar work is different class, and it add a bit of fun to the proceedings.The rest are pretty much standard WOLF fare, finishing up with a “Eric The Red” a Viking tale, a mid paced pomp of a tale, again with more than a nod to the IRONS, but a very good end to a mammoth 20 songs of pure METAL!!

Line Up:

Jens Börner - Vocals, Guitars (1992-1996, 2000-present)
Damien Capolongo - Guitars (lead) (2002-2010, 2020-present)
Rikki Mannhard - Bass, Vocals (backing) (2010-present) - See also: ex-Mystery Blue, ex-Altar
Bubu Brunner - Drums (2014-present) - See also: Black Hole, Syr Daria

Tracklist:

CD1:

01. The Last Goodbye (7:11)
02. The Fallen Angel (5:36)
03. Division Hades (5:47)
04. Manilla Shark (3:59)
05. Underground Warriors (3:58)
06. To Hell and Back (Instrumetal) (1:49)
07. Alive (2:53)
08. Lackeys of Fear (5:26)
09. Silent Rage (4:34)
10. Drowned in Black (9:10)

CD2:

11. The Call (Intro) (Re-Recorded) (1:01)
12. Into the Battle We Ride (Re-Recorded) (5:07)
13. The Dark Throne (Re-Recorded) (3:20)
14. Towards the Light (Re-Recorded) (3:15)
15. Forgotten Shadows (Re-Recorded) (3:27)
16. The Forgotten Valley of Hades (Re-Recorded) (5:31)
17. 1789 (Re-Recorded) (3:48)
18. Witch Hunter (Re-Recorded) (5:24)
19. Sorcery (Re-Recorded) (5:15)
20. Erik the Red (Re-Recorded) (6:54)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/