Lost in Hell

Seasons of the Wolf, despite having a relatively niche sound, still seem more unknown than they should be in 2023, with Empyreal being the only other person I've seen making much noise about them. This likely has something to do with the fact that most of their albums came out in the late 90s and early 2000s, after traditional metal's heyday and mostly before its resurgence. Even their newest album from 2018 seems to have garnered little attention, despite that album's own quality and the fact that there's a strong trad metal community again via the internet. However, I'd first like to point attention to their 1999 sophomore release Lost in Hell, as it's the album that got me hooked on the band personally, and, I still feel, their strongest release overall.

The album gets things started right out of the gates with the title track, one of the best offerings here, with a simple and catchy, yet slightly off-kilter main riff, which pretty much showcases everything the band is about. Catchy, simple melodies, yet slightly odd or unusual melodic choices here and there that separate them from being a straight-ahead, traditional heavy metal band. The vocals are also non-traditional, and perhaps an acquired taste for some, with Wes Waddell delivering a raspy shriek that's exaggerated and deliberately almost cartoonish, yet it works well with the synthy, low-budget sci-fi style prevalent in most of the songs, and he certainly has charisma and an impressive range. He's even able to pull off a softer tone quite competently, at the beginning of "Witchfinder" for example. He's certainly a vital part of the band's sound, though I'd say his talents would be wasted anywhere else, similar to how the vocals of Cirith Ungol's Tim Baker would sound off in any other act.

To be honest, there's almost as much rock here as there is metal, but make no mistake - this is absolutely a riff-centric record, and the fact that the band manages to throw out simple riffs and repeat them over and over while still engaging the listener is quite impressive - usually bands that have a tendency to do this, such as Heavy Load and Crystal Viper, simply can't hold my interest and leave me sick of the riff by the end of each track, but there's enough slight variations on the themes here, as well as additional melodies via prevalent keyboards, that I never find that happening here. It's almost like the band calculated the exact amount they could milk a single idea without being too repetitive, then went right up to that line (without ever crossing it) on every single song. It's a deceptively difficult trick that makes it seem like the most natural thing ever, yet in reality I'm sure must have taken a strong combination of effort and skill. The only other band I can think of that pulls this sort of thing off as well is the similarly obscure Lazarus Sin, who are actually quite similar in style to Seasons of the Wolf, minus the synths.

There's definitely darker undertones (and in some songs, like the ominous "Communion," overtones as well) to the album, and to Seasons of the Wolf in general, but it's never quite serious enough to feel menacing - the band definitely keeps things lighthearted, even while having some gloomy and ghoulish themes - Halloweenish is the best term I can think of to describe the overall atmosphere, and another band that comes to mind here that does a very similar thing (also with very prevalent synths) is the Texas band Ripper with their album And the Dead Shall Rise. Some tracks, though, like "Interstellar," don't really have any of the darkness present, as that track in particular is a quite upbeat, even relaxed prog rocker, yet still manages to be enjoyable, relying more on Waddell's vocal lines and Dennis Ristow's keyboards, though it's actually guitarist Barry Waddell (assumedly Wes's brother, though I'm not actually sure) that really shines the most here, with some playful licks and soling here that showcases his skills perhaps even more strongly than on the heavier metal tracks - he's not at all a guitarist that worries about how fast or technical he can play, but simply how he can keep the listener entertained with some of the most basic uses of his instrument, which ultimately shows his true mastery of it more than flashy showmanship or convoluted technicality ever could (Dream Theater, I'm looking at you here). This sort of playful demonstration brings to mind yet another obscure band, Grudge, with their only album Barbarians of the New Earth, where things like random drum solos in the middle of songs, random time changes without actually sounding technical, and repeated pitch-shifted intros show how little the band cares about following tradition and how much they prefer having fun, which ultimately results in the listener having fun as well (if you're into this sort of thing as much as I am!).

At this point, we get to "Witchfinder," which at some point beat out the title track as my ultimate favorite song on the album (and favorite SotW track in general), with an intro that's somehow haunting and still gives me chills with its mystifying non-distorted riff a la Manilla Road that explodes perfectly into the meatier, metallic portion of the song as Wes belts out "Go ahead and die if you want to...would you like me to help you TRYYYYYYY-HYYYYY????" in perfect fashion, getting raspier as the heavier guitar riff comes in. The back and forth between the softer and heavier sections in the song really show SotW fully in their element, and despite the fact that the rest of the album is still very strong throughout, I'm always a little disappointed at the end of the track....unless, that is, I decide to go back and listen to it for an encore! It really is that good.

If I had to level a single complaint at the album, it would be that it feels a tad long, even without the live bonus track - while only 10 tracks long, one of which is an interlude, the average track length is around six minutes, and while, as I described earlier, no individual song outstays its welcome, there isn't a lot of stylistic variety outside of "Interstellar" and "Witchfinder," which isn't really that big a deal, yet does hurt the album a bit when listened to all at once - an album like the aforementioned Lazarus Sin's Intracranial Mass does this a bit better at around 45 minutes and only 7 tracks, while Lost in Hell is close to an hour even minus the bonus track. To its credit, though, "One Land One KIng" is definitely a strong choice for album closer, as it has a slightly more triumphant feel than other tracks and ends things on a bit of a more uplifting note.

Overall, as I said, I think this is the band's strongest release, though other albums do showcase certain aspects of the band better than this one does, or simply bring in other elements not present here, as I'll be bringing up when I (eventually) get to the rest of the band's albums. However, this remains an (inter)stellar release, and is a perfect intro to the band in my opinion, as the first album is easily the band's weakest and this is probably the most accessible of the band's discography (it was for me, at least). For fans of bands that like to do their own thing and march to the beat of their own drum, are weird yet charming, etc. (Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Slough Feg are some of the biggest examples here), I would absolutely recommend this album and this band very highly. Even though Halloween's long over (as I'm writing this), you can never go wrong with the dramatic, playful spookiness of Seasons of the Wolf!

This was Seasons of the Wolf’s real coming-of-age of sorts, where they really got their shit together. The debut was good for what it was, but on Lost in Hell they really expanded their sound. This comes off like a kind of mausoleum of the great sounds of the 70s and maybe just a hint of the 80s. You get reverb-soaked riffs that borrow their style but never actual ideas from the band’s idols in Black Sabbath, wailing vocals that sound like they came from a space ship whirring by and synthesizers that properly set this whole thing up as a bona fide space opera.

“Lost in Hell” kicks this off with a six-minute detour of stomping riffs and fist-in-the-air chorus lines. But the real meat of the album comes with songs like “Abandoned City,” “S.O.S.” and “Communion,” which take you on a psychedelic heavy metal journey like nothing else this side of Pagan Altar. I just love how this band just does whatever they want – it’s like their only real inspiration was “everything that was cool when we were 11.” You get songs about space, Armageddon, Louisiana voodoo, witch hunting and evil cults – it’s a checklist of the best things ever, basically. Pulp as hell.

The musicianship is killer as ever, with Scully on guitars winging out some awesome riffs and beautiful, psychedelically flavored leads and solos. He’s really quite a good guitarist, with a real feel and command for melody. Everything he does is very technical and adept, but he doesn’t feel the need to show off – instead he just works great with the other members of the band to put together killer tunes. “Dr. Samurai” on keyboards is just impeccable; with thematic keyboards that kind of shape themselves around each song…they are spacey when “Interstellar” or “Communion” calls for it, trippy on songs like “Witch Finder” and even a bit medieval on the jovial “One Land, One King.” He can do anything. Wes on vocals still rules, stretching himself out here with a little more variety than before. With his high, gritty sneer, he sounds like Jon Oliva at a Satanic gathering in the woods.

The space themed stuff really is cool – witness the out-of-this-world stomp “Communion,” with its killer chorus and pounding, atmospheric riffs, and then “Interstellar,” which showed that the band can do ballads too. “Interstellar” is a moving song that sort of looks out to the stars and beyond, with trippy keys and a quite soothing vocal performance. This kind of song would become a staple of every SOTW album. They really do it quite well. On the other side of the fence, “Witch Finder” is a Sabbathine stomp to rule them all, and “Voo Doo Master” is an unholy clarion call to Satan if there ever was one. “Initiation” is a creepy, crawling tune with a shrieking chorus build up that works very effectively. I do have to single out "Witch Finder" for perhaps the most humorous chorus in the SOTW discography - any band that can sing "she's a good witch...she's a bad witch" and make it sound that badass has to be worth something.

The last three tunes, “A Face in the Mist,” “Vengeance” and “One Land, One King” are not as good as some of the other songs on here. They’re entertaining, but not quite as memorable – I wouldn’t dare say they suck or anything, but if you want the album’s Achilles heel, there it is.

It’s hard to really talk about albums like this because there isn’t much to do besides nod your head and go ‘yes, that’s really fucking cool.’ There isn’t a whole lot of deep analysis and criticism to do here because this is a band that loves their music, is good at writing music, and puts 100% effort into making the best music they can. It’s really that simple. This is the bedrock foundation of good music – just incredibly enjoyable, agreeable stuff that I can’t imagine someone actively hating at all. This is a bit harder to get into than the following two SOTW albums, as it is more of a psychedelic journey than a riff-fest like Nocturnal Revelation for example – the songs all sort of flow as one cohesive unit. It’s an album to get lost in and just sort of soak up, not spend time picking apart. So go get lost in Lost in Hell.