Call of the Nightwolves

Vargsang are a very much old school day in the modern era. Their German anthems of hatred remind me of early Darkthrone. In terms of vocals, those repetitive riffs and the atmosphere Vargsang portray. Thankfully, it's early Darkthrone they remind me of and not what we're accustomed to hearing these days by the Norwegian outfit. Let's face it, they've past it. However, Vargsang haven't and this style of old school meets modern day black metal is very much up and running. If anything, it's yet to hit it's prime.


Vargsang are typical old school style. They pick repetition and atmosphere other everything else, and for them, it works. Their style is described as raw black metal and that is exactly what it is. Thankfully, it's not like the majority of bands in it's genre. 'Call of the Nightwolves', although brief, is a melodic outburst of noise by a German group willing and able to spread the word of hatred and misanthropy, as their lyrical themes suggest. Their style is very primitive, but not entirely. In terms of production, this isn't a lo-fi chainsaw affair. The production isn't exactly clear, but it's harsh. It sounds like Vargsang want it to. Raw and uncompromising. It's perfectly suited to Vargsang, even though everything does begin to turn into a mesh of noise. There are times when the percussion element can take over. The blast beats don't allow movement within the ranks. Therefore musical expression can be limited.


This doesn't necessarily mean 'Call of the Nightwolves' is poor. It isn't. It's just restricted in terms of innovation. But the more you think about it, the more you realise Vargsang aren't about innovation through adventure. It's about innovation through a simple raw dynamic sound old Darkthrone would be proud of. Those repetitive bass lines can be heard, for once. The riffs are melodic and flowing like the clouds in the sky. The vocals are typical rasping style vocals. They add depth to the hatred fizzing around in the atmosphere, but don't necessarily inspire. 'Call of the Nightwolves' is an attempt to bring the good old days back and although it doesn't quite turn out that way, it's a brief memory of what black metal's fanbase once used to enjoy.