Brotherhood of the Wolf
It came as a surprise to Wolfgang fans. Seven years after the release of the band’s last album, “Black Mantra,” Wolfgang came back with “Villains.” For its sixth album, Wolfgang painted the town black by playing a gig titled “The Black Christmas Project” at Eastwood City Central Plaza. It was a reunion of sorts.
The announcement of the band’s reunion sparked the interest of many followers, and soon enough singer Basti Artadi, guitarist Manuel Legarda and bassist Mon Legaspi were back in business. Their ferocious, heavy metal sound remains, and there is comfort in knowing that they have picked up where they left off.
Opening for Wolfgang was a band from Cebu called Powerspoonz. The band purveyed its unique sound described as “reggametal” — a solid mix of reggae, rock, rap and nü metal. Reminiscent of an early incarnation of 311.
Razorback — Wolfgang’s brother band — also performed. Kevin Roy and the rest of Razorback gave an equally stellar performance.
Then it was time for the main act.
The guys responded with stupendous fervor and vitality. It was as though the band had never gone dormant at all, and neither have their fans who sang along and did their head-banging bit.
There were numerous hoots and cheers from the pumped-up audience, and infrequent “Basti ang gwapo mo!” comments from the good-humored male attendees. The guys from Wolfgang played many crowd favorites from their earlier albums, such as Darkness Fell, Left Alone and Arise. They also introduced songs from their new album “Villains.” Hot new track Ibrahim can already be heard on the radio.
Former Wolfgang drummer Wolf Gemora was not present for the reunion, though, as he was reportedly committed to his current band Lokomotiv. Sitting in for Wolf was Francis Aquino of Monkeyspank. Francis’ performance was technically impressive, and his thick, pummeling beats anchored the riffs from Manuel and Mon. For the encore, the guys performed Halik ni Hudas, one of the band’s most memorable hits.
The gig was more than just a reunion concert, but hopefully a foretaste of more good music in the making. Consider it a Return of the Brotherhood of the Wolf.
