Heavy doom/metal trio WOLFNAUT, hail from Norway, and this will be the band’s 4th album, though the 2nd under their altered name from Wolfgang. Return Of The Asteroid is a good album start to finish, with some cool different sounding songs, aside from the heavy rockin’ cuts which stand out like the opener “Brother Of The Badlands”, “My Orbit Is Mine”, the faster paced “G.T.R.”, and “Something More Than Night” (something in that guitar break reminds me of Thin Lizzy). Best cut here tho’ is the slow haunting ballad “Arrows”; pretty unique atmospheric track. 9 tracks in all, ending with the 10-minute+ slow, dark epic “Wolfnaut’s Lament”.
*Return of the Asteroid will be released on black vinyl, limited colored vinyl, CD and digital on April 21st through Ripple Music. For more info, check out the band bio / press release below.
WOLFNAUT (formerly known as Wolfgang) started life in the mid-1990s in the town of Elverum, a two-hour drive northeast of the Norwegian capital Oslo. Their energetic live shows and debut album, ‘Welcome to the Cactus Mountains’, went down a storm in their hometown, and the album even garnered a solid review in Kerrang! WOLFNAUT reformed again in 2013, and the band released its second album, ‘Castle in the Woods’, to raving reviews in 2016. The band’s aptly titled third album “III” was released in 2022. “III” brought the Norwegian trio’s blend of catchy tunes and heavy stoner riffs to a larger international audience. For their fourth album, WOLFNAUT has teamed up with US-based label Ripple Music to spread the word even further.
“Return of the Asteroid” is the slightly darker and doomier cousin of “III”. Wolfnaut’s penchant for writing catchy rockers is still very much alive and well on songs like “Brother of the Badlands”, “My Orbit Is Mine” and “G.T.R.”, but “Return of the Asteroid” also sees the band developing their love for more dynamic songs. There is more of both light and shade on Wolfnaut’s fourth long-player, which can clearly be heard on offerings like “The Mighty Pawns”, “Crates of Doom” and “Wolfnaut’s Lament”. The album even introduces a first for the band: a ballad! “Arrows” was originally released on “Castle in the Woods” in 2016, but the band didn’t feel that the hard rock approach on the original recording did the song justice. Stripped down to its core elements, the song now has a new lease on life.
“Return of the Asteroid” was recorded at Audioskop studio, Sofiemyr, Norway. Production was handled by the band, with invaluable help from engineer extraordinaire Bjørn Barstad. Swedish sound wizard Karl Daniel Lidén (Greenleaf, Lowrider, Dozer, Demon Cleaner) was enlisted to mix, master, and put the finishing touches to the album. Eminent graphic designer Mirko Masala created the visuals. With a career now spanning 25 years, four albums and countless live shows, WOLFNAUT is ready to spread the word of Norwegian stoner rock to an even wider international audience. Now part of the Ripple Music family, expect to see the band somewhere on the road in the not-so-distant future.
TRACKLIST:
1. Brother of the Badlands
2. My Orbit Is Mine
3. The Mighty Pawns
4. Crash Yer Asteroid
5. Arrows
6. G.T.R.
7. Something More Than Night
8. Crates of Doom
9. Wolfnaut’s Lament
WOLFNAUT :
Tor Erik Hagen – Bass
Ronny «Ronster» Kristiansen – Drums & Percussion
Kjetil Sæter – Guitars, Vocals & Piano
Outsider Rock 