Halloween season is upon us so it’s time to box up all the fluffy pop music and store it away for the month of October. It’s a time to brush off the cobwebs and retrieve all the skeletons, skulls, and pumpkins from the closet and binge watch horror classics from the present and past. And what can me more Halloween than listening to We’re Wolves, not Lon Chaney Jr, but the horror metalcore band? The Florida band is set to release their debut album, Evil Things, on October 22, 2021, just in time for Halloween.
We’re Wolves exploded on the music scene in 2017 with a cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff”. The song’s video has amassed over 1.7 million YouTube views. It was a glimpse of things to come. After four years which included their debut EP Hunger and several cover versions from bands including Drowning Pool, Down With Sickness, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, and Atreyu, the band has stepped up with their own music on Evil Things.
Evil Things is We’re Wolves examination of the evil and sins committed by society. This is approached from the perspective of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. In the poem there are nine circles (or levels) of Hell, each reflecting more serious sins and each having punishments reflecting the nature and severity of a specific type of mortal sin.
The Greek poet Virgil acts a guide for Dante in the Divine Comedy. In this case, vocalist AJ Diaferio leads the listener on a musical journey set to rhythmic guitars and brutal vocals as he depicts stories of man’s regressions which will land them in one of the circles of hell. Along the way he is joined by other musical artists including Bryan Kuznitz from the Florida rock band Fame on Fire, Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas, and pop singer Rain Paris.
“Welcome to Hell” starts the album off as fear sets in as a soul exclaims “what is this place? what have I done? Diaferio proceeds to step us through the acts leading to Dante’s nine levels of hell: 1st – limbo, 2nd – lust, 3rd – gluttony, 4th – greed, 5th – wrath, 6th – heresy, 7th – violence, 8th – fraud, and 9th – treachery. “Limbo” is about the Dante’s first level, limbo. “Fall With Me” explores lust and desire. Diaferio says “This one’s pretty easy, it’s just about passionate sex. Giving into each other’s deepest desires. This song was based around Lust. Parts of the lyrical content can get a little bit on the rougher side, but hey that’s just passion.”
He continues to advance through sins dealing with gluttony, in “Wasteland” and greed in “Sell Your Soul”. Diaferio notes “This song is based on greed. Wanting to live a lavish life like the celebrities we see on tv and on social media. The desire to have everything you ever wanted but cannot obtain, and the willingness to sell your soul to the devil to get it. Being sick of your mundane life, and simply wanting more. This song to me is greed in its purest form.”
“Wrath” describes wrath. “Life of a Parasite” speaks to heresy while the last track “Between The Cracks” is about treachery.
Even though this is review of the album, I would be remiss not to mention the videos that were released for the first three singles, “Wasteland”, “Fall With Me”, and “Sell Your Soul”. The band supplements the dark music on the album with even darker and at times grotesque videos providing imagery for the songs. “Wasteland” is straight out of a Criminal Minds episode that will probably keep me awake tonight and prevent me from eating hamburger for the next few months. “Fall With Me” depicts a murder suicide. “Sell Your Soul” is a parody of Wolf of Wall Street, except rather than people buying and trading stocks, demons buy and trade souls. Below are links to the videos for you to check out.
Some listeners may just sit back and enjoy the guitar work, vocals, and melodies on the album. However, others may dig more into the content of the songs and videos. Dante’s Divine Comedy is probably the scariest book I have read. It really makes you think about the afterlife and consequences of the decisions made during your life. Sometimes I wonder if Dante’s work was inspired by some arch angel which makes it even scarier. “Evil Things” may not be this ominous, but if you really delve in, it makes you take a step backand reassess life, whether that was the band’s intention or not.
Evil Things is a good debut effort by We’re Wolves. It’s a concept album that explores the sins of mankind. Musically it stands out among other metalcore albums with impressive Diaferio screams and clean vocals. The album is due out on October 22, 2021.
We’re Wolves are:
AJ Diaferio – Lead Vocalist
Jeremy Matthew – Guitarist
Chase Wesley – Lead Guitarist
Jesse Seccatello – Drummer
Drew Salazar – Bass Guitarist
Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)
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