Werewolves – What a Time to Be Alive (Actually Brutal Death Metal)
With such a genius cover making every attempt to disturb me (it won’t work, though) I knew Werewolves had only a slight chance to deliver what I wanted. What do I want? Sometimes I have no clue, though now and again I pray to get a good punk or hardcore submission, but if someone dares come at me with various grotesqueries upon their cover while carrying the death metal banner they better as hell deliver some brutal shit that’s not the slightest bit generic because if that’s the case I’ll slam a biatch into the ground. More than what you see above. With a scythe instead of a sickle, a pike instead of a machete, and scissors are for the weak I’ll cut you apart with my bare hands. Thankfully, What a Time to Be Alive wasn’t simply an exercise in visual assault, it is also of the aural type.
Werewolves is pretty clear on their intent; this is death metal as previously defined for like forty years now. Or has it been longer? No one remembers. An issue with the modern strain is it either doesn’t know when to experiment, which Werewolves certainly is not going to do, or if classic it follows Wikipedia and pretends to be an expert. Classic is probably more difficult to wield successfully these days, so already these guys are coming at me with their hands tied behind their backs awhile I’ve got glass and nails glued to my fists. Somehow I ended up getting the beat down, though. What a Time to Be Alive surprised me in its candor and the only reason that works here is Werewolves fucking kills it. Brutal death metal comes with years of baggage that’s nearly impossible for most bands to slough off, but in all of their unbridled honesty these guys have managed to keep their sound consistent, well-produced, and actually brutal.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Werewolves – What a Time to Be Alive
Prosthetic Records
Cover Art: Mitchell Nolte
4.5 / 5
