CANDLEBOX | WOLVES
Candlebox has returned with a new album called “Wolves” which drops worldwide on September 17, 2021 and we got an early sneak peek!! Lets give a little history lesson about the band before we delve into the review. If you were a teenager in the 90’s then you definitely know who Candlebox is. They were a force of nature during the grunge area of music with huge hits such as “You”, “Far Behind”, “Cover Me”, “Blossom” just to name a few. They were honestly one of my favorite bands growing up and I had their CD’s on constant rotation in my Walkman. Candlebox formed in 1990 and are from Seattle Washington. Their first major hit was in 1993 with the release of their self entitled album that included hit songs such as “Change”, “You” and “Far Behind”. The band went on hiatus in 2000 then formed back up in 2006 and here we are today!
When this album was sent out to us to do a preview/review on, I was pleasantly surprised. Now I do want to stress one point, if you are getting this album expecting a early 90’s candlebox sound then you will be disappointed. Now the album does have compositional elements that are reminiscent of their 90’s sound such as the song “Criminal” but this new record has a harder straight forward rock sound with a more distinctive raw vocal performance from lead singer Kevin Martin. This is not a bad thing at all and I feel it is a great thing, it shows the bands growth and development by not releasing a record that sounds like something they did before but something new and different. I was never a fan of bands who have a storied and long history in the music world releasing albums that try to recapture what they did over 20 years ago. We all understand change is inevitable and I am happy to say that Candelbox really did create a new album that showcases their current style and growth.
The album is a strong rock album with a blend of melodic guitar riffs that compliment the more raw vocal performance. The album starts off with a song called “All Down Hill from Here Now” and it has strong, palming style groove rock rhythm that I can see people swaying their heads to because the guitar beat keeps you moving. Other tracks such as “Riptide”, “Lost Angeline” and “Trip” slow it down a bit and really have this impassioned composition showcasing Kevin Martins vocals. The song “Trip” is one of my favorites as well as punch in the gut rock song “Let me Down Easy”. I think the album is good but I do have one and only one pessimistic thing to note. I was not feeling and the song called “We” at all. I feel the track is misplaced on this record as it does not seem to blend well with the rest of the tracks and it also sounds unfinished. The vocal performance, guitar work and overall mix of the song sounds thrown together with certain parts of the track imbalanced. Some parts of the track even sound off key, but as always that is only my personal opinion about that particular track, so take it with a grain of salt! The rest of the record really sounds great and I think it is a strong set of songs that showcase the band still has a lot of juice left in them!
For information on how you can pick up your copy click on the links below.
~ Editor Chris Sturk
We gave the album a 4 out of 5 stars!
