Wartooth got on the phone to me about this band a couple of days ago, urging me to check them out, and after listening to their new album Forgotten Frozen Lands, I thought to myself, ‘hmmm…this needs urgent attention’, and acted as swiftly as I could to get an interview, whilst 4000 miles away, unbeknownst to me, Sunshine Ward Recordings were also listening to them, thinking the same, and quickly arranging to do a cassette release for Forgotten Frozen Lands in the US. Three great minds thinking alike eh? Or maybe we’re just weird? Well, if you like blackened-thrash crust / d-beat, with old Swedish / Finnish hardcore punk, GISM or even Quorthon-esque vocals, but you need good melody and interesting riffing, and you’re ok with a bit of beer-fuelled mysticism, and a sound I’d describe as evil-in-a-good-way, well, take a quick flip through the youtube link below, and then buy the cd here or here ( Russia and Europe ) and preorder the cassette here (US), because this band certainly delivers on a bastardised range of all the best bits of the last four decades of underground takes on the dirty-rock-and-roll thing, without artifice in any of them, if you know what I mean. Production-wise, this is probably the sound that Aura Noir were always after in the studio, and they also pull off the resonant snare approach, which – listening to their older stuff – is clearly deliberate, and clinches the deal for me because it only rarely happens since SEPTIC DEATH’s 1984 album NTIHYAWDIDWI. So, pick up your rusty axes, glinting in the dying rays of sunlight, get your beers, and ready yourself for an introduction to the night time world of HuNGRY WöLF…..
Hello Hungry Wölf! You’ve been doing the band since 2011 right? Can you give us a short history of the band – members, releases and so on?
Hi there! Yes that’s right! The group appeared in 2011. Our guitarist Anton and me got into it in 2012. The founder of the group was Danil Volodin. Almost all of the bands’s early work was invented by him. At the same time, there was also a separate vocalist in the group, with whom we had to part ways a little later.
We rehearsed a bit all together and started sowing drunkenness and thrash on the gigs
I think you have a really good range of styles, but you’ve made your own sound. Did you have a plan for the music? Influences?
Oh, dude! Our influence has always been the same from year to year. We love Swedish music very much. And commands such as Bathory, Venom, Disfear, Driller Killer, Gehennah and Anti Cimex just left an imprint on us. This is exactly what we are most inspired by.
The plans for the future are the same as they have always been. We are in the ranks and ready to continue to play gigs, ride around the cities, drink beer and give people the black, cold music.
‘Hangover’ and ‘Beer Metal Hell’ – are your lyrics influenced by your daily lives? Is ‘The Great Journey in Scandinavia’ auto-biographical?
These songs were written by the first vocalist I mentioned above. All of them are based on personal experience from life and on the lifestyle of the period when they were written.
As for the song about Scandinavia, it’s like a cry from the heart about how we would like to move there for the rest of our lives. We really like the Scandinavian countries, their nature, music and much more.
Did you produce Forgotten Frozen Lands yourselves? It has a really good sound. Your drummer doesn’t put damping pads on her snare… 🙂
Yes, the whole release was done by ourselves. Total DIY. We put a lot of effort into it and spent a whole bunch of nerves, but the result still compensated for these costs, including thanks to this release, we got the opportunity to communicate with you and tell about ourselves!
The drummer in our group has absolutely her own style of playing the instrument. This allowed our release to stand out in a sound from many other releases in a similar direction of music.
And yeah! Our drummer is my girlfriend. Together we bring down damned sounds to the ground!
The world is changing fast, and not everyone can cope with that, with many traditional patriarchs wanting more power – Hungary, Belarus, Poland etc. Does the political situation in your country have any influence on your music? Or maybe your music is an escape?
Undoubtedly, in our country the entire political situation that is now unfolding in the territory affects everyone who lives here. Despite all this, our music has absolutely no political overtones. We don`t bring politics into our music. This is a completely separate topic and I really want it to be a little off to the side. Our creativity is by no means an escape from reality. It only reflects our love for this kind of music.
Do you play many shows? ( obviously that’s difficult at the moment with Covid ) Are there any other bands from your local scene you would you like to mention?
Now we have at least 4 concerts ahead of us. Before the release, we also had time to perform at various events, it was really great. We live in St. Petersburg and there are a lot of cool bands here that make very cool music. I’m afraid I’ll suffocate from the lack of air if I start listing!
So, how are you going to release Forgotten Frozen Lands, and where can we buy it?
Forgotten Frozen Lands will be released on CDs in Russia by Grotesque Sounds label and Wings Of Destruction label. Also, the album will be released in 100 cassettes on the American label Sunshine Ward Recordings. It’s in New Jersey. Many thanks to the guys for their support, it’s a pleasure to work with all these people!
Any words for your fans?
Firstly, a huge respect to you for the opportunity to tell a foreign audience about us! It`s very important for us. Secondly, hello to everyone who listens and loves our music and all similar styles of music. See you at concerts in the near future, black music fans!
Nice talking to you, Scott. Hello England, we will be in touch! ;-)))) We`re the beer drinkers, babe, and a hellraisers too!
https://hungrywolf666.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/hungry.wolf.band/
Old Man's Mettle 