The Big Takeover (USA)
Wolfmen - Urban Voodoo
Fueled by Batman and Green Lantern comics, Finland's Wolfmen translate cartoon themes to a rocking backdrop
that's three parts pogo-punk to one part glam. The drummer has a unique ride style that immediately sets the
band apart rhythmically, and while it works great on their own material, it's really jarring on a lousy cover
of the Eddie and the Hot Rods masterpiece Do Anything You Wanna Do. The lapse aside, the rest
of this a real kick and probably the best of their three CDs.
Flipside #116 (USA)
Wolfmen - Urban Voodoo
The opening track brought to mind the energy of that Sigue Sigue Sputnik hit . . . but without the
wackiness and with gravel throated vocals. There is a big, full sound going on and a certain dark-tinged,
anthemic, arena punk groove that reminds me of Social Distortion, D.O.A. or Bad Religion. The
band is from Finland and have foreign looking names, like Huhdanpaa (with umlauts over the last two
a's) but the songs are in English and this five piece has the general tone of stadium packing, squeaky tight,
punk machines. Their uniform includes loose fitting, brown suits, skinny ties and shades all around. Tunes
like Murderworld with it's chorus of "Welcome to hard times" and Dennis the maniac are indicative
of the group's serious, gritty, life on the streets is a bitch, aggro attack on each and every flawlessly
executed track. Not my cup of tea, but the kids will love it.
The Original Sin #19 (Belgium)
Wolfmen - Urban Voodoo
Wanna hear a rocktastic album? Wanna hear a band who still believe in the good old tradition to rock the guitar?
Wanna hear an album by the coolest rockmen you can imagine? Let Wolfmen be your guide then. Urban Voodoo from
the Finnish animals is pure and maximum rock’n’roll. Sounding a lot like the two best rockbands there are today
(that’s Rock from the Crypt and Gold Blade!!!). There’s nothing sophisticated about their music,
you just get 14 songs that you’ll play at the highest volume you can get and therefore Urban Voodoo can only
be compared to one thing: a hell of a party! Fun, fun, fun … and once the 55 minutes of pure enjoyment are over
you wonder why you can’t be like them … at least if you can cos they put 100% energy in their stuff. The world
is a fucked up world and with bands like Wolfmen around us, it makes it a bit better.
Autoreverse #7 (USA)
Wolfmen - Urban Voodoo
Comes on like an Epitaph Records version of Rammstein (ie-punk rock with weird synth bits) but by track 2,
they just sound like a regular Epitaph band. Freaks reminds me of Social Distortion. Aged punk.
Until about halfway though, when they do a heavy metal ballad., Keep On. Otherwise, it's all very Bad
Religion, especially the song Black Flag. Backing vocal harmonies, the whole deal. The recording is
excellent, very well produced. The songs are well-written and memorable and executed very well. Epitaph-hoes
should get this.
The Ampli-Flier Worldwide
Wolfmen- The Shadow War
Amp Rating: XXXXX
Here's a new label for The Ampli-Flier. Hiljaiset Levyt comes to the US from the fine land of Finland. Tampere to
be exact. Included in this well done package is a really hot mainstream metal band entitled Wolfmen. The band
began in 1987 and has come to define their music as raw rock in Marvel comics and XXX rated films. The newest
release features forteen ear splitting rockin tunes including "The Shadow War", "Ameerika", and "Zombie Nation".
The band seems to have a mix of 80's Judas Priest metal tones with punk overtones. Back to basics seems to be
the general format with melody and raw energy. Watch out for a full moon, because you never know when the
battle cry of the Wolfmen will be at your door!
Noise For Heroes (web-zine)
Reviewed by Steve Gardner
Wolfmen: The Shadow War
No sooner do I get through writing the Sator review in which I apologize to the Wolfmen for comparing the two bands than
the new Wolfmen lp arrives in the mail for me to sink my teeth into and to demonstrate the point in spades. They've had
more money to work with in the studio this time and the result is a much beefier sound than before. The sound is razor
sharp metallic punk to the max...generally the choruses and verse parts are as tough a brand of punk as you could ever
hope for, but the solos have a tendency to be a little excessive at time. Still, it's a small complaint, because there aren't many
solos and the bulk of this fairly smokes; a powerhouse lp from start to finish. I love the drumming; Moke Laine is a
precision hitter who plays simple but rock solid and fast (almost no rolls but lots of inventive one or two hit fills). Jallu
Korpi has a great ripping voice...always gravelly but also tuneful and sounding right on the edge without going over.
Despite the cartoon image of the band (the insert booklet looks like a superhero comic), only a handful of songs fit the
picture. The lyric sheet reveals some fairly fractured English, but it beats trying to decipher 38 syllable long Finnish words!
They re-did Zombie Hop, the track that appeared on The Violence Inherent In The System compilation, and made it faster
and sharper sounding (not that it needed it, but what the heck!). Only one track out of 14 over three minutes long. (PO Box
211, SF-33201, Tampere, Finland)