Hunger – Ruler of the Wolves (Sword and Sorcery Thrash Metal)
Boy there’s like nothing about this band currently. When you see absolutely nothing on Metallum and AI slop claims they don’t exist, you know you’re in trouble, or about to come upon a true treasure. Thankfully, this is the latter type of find. It took forever for me to track them down (in Internet terms) and when I went to Insta the system asked me if everything was okay because I searched for the word ‘hunger?’ Can’t I get a break?! I just want to find this band, Jesus Christ! So I already went into this seething with rage, but luckily Spain’s Hunger are so super good it calmed me. Perhaps, actually, it’s better to say that my rage was turned into a battle cry, as I raised my metaphorical sword to slay the beasts that dare challenge me! I decided to be a Ruler of the Wolves!
Actually I’m still mad, for one particular reason. This is too damn short! Damn it, guys, first I had trouble finding you, and now I have to deal with half a hit to get a sense of your power? Unacceptable, not to mention they broke my cardinal rule of no covers. Ugh, hate those things, they tend to be just filler, and in this case that’s certainly true. In addition to the fact that we have an intro also taking up space! Now, to get into the actual grit of Ruler of the Wolves, the intro is permitted, because it prepares the listener for the clashing of steel against teeth in this debut. Once Hunger unsheathes their weapons, they delve into true thrash metal warfare. Though you won’t find anything perceivably new in this work, you will find something perceivably better. Hunger knows their thrash. We’ve got vocals spilling with confidence, rally cries laying siege to the weak, incredible solos casting arrows over battlements, and all the best stuff that makes for the most powerful of thrash. Toss in some dark fantasy themes and you have a package so stellar you’ll wonder why in the hell they didn’t add more to it (notice my central complaint yet?). As a debut this is more than enough, sure, I won’t lie, but Hunger would have done themselves, and all of us, a favor if they beefed out the selection, because in essence it boils down to only three tracks out of the six where they get to stake their claim to metal territories uncaptured or already declared a nation-state. Wait a minute, you say, shouldn’t that be four tracks? It would be if there wasn’t an outro before the cover! Damn it to hell Hunger maybe you should have waited a bit before you drew swords! We’ll take it for now, but if they’re going to maintain their primacy over others, they’re going to need to give us more content! Or at least a shirt with that sick wolf thing up there!
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Hunger – Ruler of the Wolves
Jawbreaker Records
Cover Art: Mikhael Feliks (weirdfacee_std)
4.3 / 5
