Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Very few groups with the musical background of BlackWolf get the type of reception that this quality band received at their support slot to The Union at the o2 Academy. Liverpool rarely does the harder, more extreme side to rock, it is an area that usually gets left down the other end of the M6 Motorway in Birmingham and Wolverhampton or jets past and finds itself up in Scotland. So when the members of BlackWolf came on stage, it was with a gladdened heart that the crowd, still suffering with the cold that the Spring day had bought to them, took as readily as they did to the five piece and their blistering, head banging set.

BlackWolf’s pedigree is already well established, having played the Bulldog Bash in 2011, supporting JettBlack and an early critically welcomed E.P. it seems that whilst a lot of band’s that perform their music fast and heavy, an art form that gets too readily overlooked, are too easily dismissed, BlackWolf will not have to suffer that ignominy at all and with major reasons why.

Fronted by Scott Sharp on vocals, the metal rockers growled, paced and stormed their way through their allotted time with ease. Their demeanour, their collective stance may have suggested a band that was ready to howl at the moon in Metal anguish but the smile on their faces, especially the youthful Jason Cronin on rhythm guitar who displayed all the attributes of some of the illustrious Metal guitarists of the last 40 years including the great Angus Young of AC/DC, was nothing short of exhilarating.

Opening with the track Mr. Maker and the incredible and electrically charged Black Hole Friend, if you are going to set your stall out early in the hope of catching the audiences undivided attention then it is advisable to follow the route of BlackWolf, play the music and play it loud. The band powered their way through several songs and each one it felt as though if you didn’t nod in appreciation at any point then it was possible you were missing something tangible.

Amongst other tracks performed by the band were the superb Moving Keep On, Seeds, and the phenomenally good Ophelia before finishing an adrenaline-charged evening with the fantastic Stairway Ticket.

BlackWolf won’t appeal to all, that is impossibility, however they will get under the skin of a lot of people and infiltrate their thoughts on how certain genres sound, they certainly have a lot going for them and they sound impressive.

Ian D. Hall