Volume #145: Wraith -“Fueled by Fear”
Rustbelt Rock Review
By: Z.M. Delgado
Rustbeltrockreview.com
Volume #145: Wraith -“Fueled by Fear”
Release date: June 28th, 2024
Greetings and salutations to all you righteous Metalheads out there. I hope this review finds you well. I sit down today to discuss the newest addition to my musical library. It is of course the recent release by Wraith, the long awaited fifth album: “Fueled by Fear.” This record comes on the heels of 2021’s phenomenal release, “Undo the Chains,” which really kicked my ass royally. So I was understandably excited when this new album dropped. I scooped it up on Bandcamp without hesitation and promptly threw it on regular rotation. Packing in 14 new compositions, it is 46 minutes of blazing Black Speed Metal. True to the sub-genre, Wraith delivers lightening fast riffs at a breakneck pace. The vocals are served up with a grating, raspy growl that is truly vicious.
The album opens with a pulse pounding instrumental entitled “Asylum.” This track lights the fuse the subsequently explodes; blowing the album wide open. Without a doubt it kicks the album off in exactly the right way setting the pace, and the bar, very, very high. “Asylum” fades out and gives way to the title track “Fueled by Fear.” This is the first of my stand out tracks. The opening minute of the song is a plodding intro that acts as a segway between the end of “Asylum” and the punishment that is about to unfold. Once that first minute passes, the song tears open and hits you like punch in the face. Hard driving and wrathful energy is how I’d describe “Fueled by Fear” as it blasts out of the speakers. With sick riffs throughout, no Wraith song is complete without some ripping Guitar work. This song is no exception as it packs a short and sweet solo into it’s run time. Without a doubt, this is a track that should make it’s way to a prominent spot in the live setlist.
My second stand out track is “Code Red.” This one opens up with a slower stomping sort of riff, but quickly evolves into the flying fast tempo that Wraith fans are accustom to. The verse is brutal and the first chorus is savage. It is followed by a short but fantastic solo, that acts as a bridge back into the verse. The second verse then leads into a breakdown which then gives way to Guitar solo of exceptional quality. In fact the solo on “Code Red” may be the best on the album. I really like the drum work on this one. It is all killer speed throughout, and has this thundering quality on the second half of the first verse that I particularly like.
The next track I want to discuss is the monster that is “Warlord.” It opens with a sweet bassline, that gives way to a bitchin’, chugging riff. That riff sets a most excellent cadence that will no doubt be bait for the moshpit. The guitar produces some killer notes on the second half of the verse that adds a sweet new layer to the sound. Similarly the guitar work on the chorus is amazingly melodic beneath the snarling lyrics. At about the halfway point of the song the tempo jumps and the song takes off like a ballistic missile, before dropping back into the original stomping meter. “Warlord” closes on a ripping solo that continues to impress even as it fades out to silence. This song goes incredibly hard. So hard that it cannot be described but demands to be heard. Suffice to say, “Warlord” is my favorite track and is reason enough to pick up the album all by itself.
Speaking of tracks that go hard. My final stand out track is “Truth Decay.” This one starts out with a riff that absolutely pounds. It blazes with white hot speed and leaves nothing but ashes in it’s wake. This song is pure aggression, hard and fast and undeniably in your face. The vocal pattern on the chorus seems to hack at the ear like a hatchet and there is a striking quality to it’s cadence that really makes me want to bang my head. Midway through the song there is a nice breakdown that is an effective change of pace. This gives way to a bonafide ripper of a guitar solo, that is guaranteed to melt the face right off of your skull.
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So here we come to final thoughts on the album and I have to tell you I think it slams. Wraith has constructed a collection that is powerfully new and fresh. Simultaneously, they have done nothing more than follow a trajectory they have been on for years. They write songs with speed, aggression and plenty of balls. They have become masters of the art of Black Speed Metal, certainly residing among the greatest acts in the genre. That is to say, Wraith knows what they are about and they get down to the business of doing it with deadly seriousness. This is how you spawn an album of the quality of “Fueled by Fear.” Picking up right where they left off with the last record, “Fueled by Fear” is the next logical step in the bands evolution. Not to say that much has changed. Wraith is still making Black Speed Metal, the way it is meant to be made. They are still churning out songs that are fast and hard, driving in meter and vocally abrasive. There is still evil in the tone and the enduring spirit of Motorhead remains in the energy. On “Fueled by Fear” we get a new chapter in the bands saga, with 14 more songs to Rock to. Simultaneously, the band has achieved a whole new level of song writing and musicianship. While still holding legitimate youth energy, coupled with veteran experience, Wraith has created a violent storm of Rock N’ Roll. For fans of Motorhead, MIDNIGHT, Bewitcher or Cleveland’s own Wyld Timez and Pagan Impaler, I highly recommend Wraith’s “Fueled by Fear.” On that note I will bring this edition to a close. Thank you for reading, keep your horns up and your heads banging!
Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,
-Z.M. Delgado
Rustbelt Rock Review
Rustbeltrockreview.com
7/8/2024
(Wraith – “Fueled by Fear:” 14 tracks of pure Black Speed fury. Wraith returns with their fifth full length hell bent on destruction. Packed with driving meters, hammering drums, and ax work for days. Wraith has birthed a monster; a monster that is “Fueled by Fear.”)
Links:
https://wraith219.bandcamp.com/album/fueled-by-fear
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