WOLFMOTHER — Wolfmother (review)

WOLFMOTHER — Wolfmother album cover Album · 2005 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
voila_la_scorie
It's virtually impossible to write a review for a Wolfmother album without referring to the heavy music scene of the 1969 to 1976 period, unless you have never heard anything from that time period and Wolfmother is your first introduction to the roots of hard rock/heavy metal.

I heard 'Cosmic Egg' first and two weeks later bought the debut album. After the first few songs I found myself repeating names like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, the Doors, Deep Purple, Blue Cheer, Warhorse, Free, Trapeze, and of course, the White Stripes (not really old in comparison but of similar sound to Wolfmother). I also felt there was some similarity with the early albums of the Tea Party, a Canadian band that often toured in Australia.

The first track, 'Dimension' sounds like Blue Cheer borrowing Grand Funk Railroad's guitar equipment and putting a younger Jack White on vocals. I find it amazing that after all the evolution the distortion pedal has gone through, a band of modern times would try to emulate the sound of those purple hazy, crazy days of '68 and '69. Amazing and enjoyable.

From there on, the good times rock and roll on like a maverick locomotive about to plough off the tracks. We get a taste of gentler music when the sound switches to Zeppelin-esque styles or acoustic guitar intros reminiscent of early Trapeze or other hard rock bands of the early seventies. There are keyboard effects that will make you think of the Doors; power chord riffs and bass lines that will have you shouting, 'Black Sabbath, man!'; organ solos coupled with heavy guitar that will have you searching through your Uriah Heep albums; and a vocal style that will make you think Jack White has gone south (and down under) for the winter.

Yet in spite of all the old style music dished up for a modern day audience (and for guys like me who treasure the old school's old school), Wolfmother come off all rock and roll in all sincerity, no apologies or cover-ups (or covers for that matter). It's like three guys decided that there's no reason why one of the most creative eras of rock music has to be dead and embalmed and that they could breathe life back into the classic sound of early heavy metal and hard rock.

I give it a high four stars only because, honestly, I find the similarity between the White Stripes a little too strong at times, even though I like the Stripes. Wolfmother are very good at combining their influences into fresh material, and I think it would be good for them to assert their modern day originality more strongly. But that is true for the second album. :)
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