Year: 2021
Total Time: 45:34
Label: MDD Records
The nice Germans from Düsseldorf (Fortuna is “creeping” this year, time to “straighten up and fly right” up there in Flingern) I happened to follow them from their first steps with 1997’s “Lupine Essence” and what impressed me was their consistency in releasing remarkable albums, not top notch, but decent and interesting above all. All this until 2013’s “Eternal Defiance”, where it seems they ran out of songwriting ideas, got stuck in the mud and released four indifferent to bad albums until 2019’s “Echoes Of Yore”.
The mastermind of the band, Arkadius Antonik, listened to the discomfort of the listeners, did some research and decided to take some (quite a few is the truth) steps back to his past. What made SUIDAKRA unique, was their ability to mix Black Metal (at the beginning) and Death Metal with plenty of Folk and Celtic elements without becoming grotesque and graphic in any way. In “Wolfbite”, they evolved Melodic Death Metal by making their sound heavier, giving it more power and distributing the folk elements in the right place, creating a colorful, but not at all tedious to the ear, sonic puzzle. I have the feeling that “Wolfbite” has been worked on a lot, there is no other way to explain the very good and correct timing of the clean vocals, the growls, the female vocals, narrations, fast and slow notes, melodies and outbursts. The use of strings, such as the violin, and wind instruments, such as the flute and the pipe organ, help to create an evocative atmosphere that is more akin to an epic bard’s narrative in the tavern than a performance of a minstrel at a fair.
With songs such as the opener “A Life in Chains”, the hit “The Inner Wolf”, the full of changing moods “Resurgence”, which reminded me so much of RUNNING WILD, as well as “A Shrine for the Ages”, so ideal for closing the album, SUIDAKRA should no longer fear that they will be lost in the oblivion of time, but prove that they will be around much longer. I guess that there is a single lyrical concept that has started earlier and specifically from the soundtrack project REALMS OF ODORIC along with Kris Verwimp who writes the lyrics, so “Wolfbite” sounds to my ears like a single story. The album has been produced by Antonik himself and is clean and clear, while the artwork has been curated by his fellow member in REALMS OF ODORIC, Kris Verwimp, known for the artwork of many important releases such as ABSU, BEWITCHED, HORNA, MARDUK, UADA and many others. I am glad for SUIDAKRA’s comeback and I believe it will be a good opportunity to reintroduce themselves to the wider audience, since it seems that the recipe of looking back to your roots to draw inspiration when you have fallen into a creative quagmire, brought a pleasant and creative result.
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: SUIDAKRA – Official Page
