Wolfpakk - Cry Wolf

Wolfpakk Cry Wolf cover
Wolfpakk
Cry Wolf
AFM Records
2013
6.5
Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystall Ball) & Michael Voss (Casanova, Mad Max) originally did a collaborative album under the name Wolfpakk with a lot of guests in 2011, but now take their collaboration to the next level with a sophomore album being written and produced under the same moniker.
 
The first album, by this dynamic duo, was interesting and had some cool songs as well as some world class guests, but was at best uneven... here, they have again amassed a great collection of talent, but let’s check out the songs and see how they’ve fared this time around?!
 
“Moonlight” features Mandy Mayer (Krokus, Unisonic etc.) on guitars  and Ralph Scheepers (Primal Fear, ex-Gamma Ray) on vocals. It is a rather spirited power metal track which barely escapes from mid-tempi, but manages to impress just the same.
 
Johnny Gioelli of Hardline/Axel Rudi Pell fame sings on “A Matter of Time” so I was expecting a lot from this track and I wasn’t entirely disappointed, at least for as long as he sings completely solo, since, where there are some other vocals that seem not to be his own and I doubt them to be Voss’ (so would it be Sweeny?) the unison of voices is less than ideal... at least to my ears, somewhat making those verses, not as pleasurable to listen to. Ugh...
 
I don’t know if anyone sings on “Dark Revelation” but it’s a pretty boring standard metal song that I could easily skip without thinking over again.
 
“Cold Winter” is a wholesome ballad, which is not too shabby, with Amanda Somerville on female vox, some people are big on those “Christmas” type of songs... I suppose, I enjoyed, the harmonies, but yeah, with the winter not being here just yet… oh well, I can live without it!
 
Tony Mills (TNT, Shy) is the singer on “Palace of Gold” and he does light work of it, not doing however his most nasal singing but rather going for a far more impressive performance…
 
“The Beast in Me” finds Göran Edman (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) on vocals and Roland Grapow (ex-Helloween, Masterplan) on the Yngwie… oh sorry, on guitars…
 
“Wakken” (I wonder, if they changed the title due to © or just for wordplay reasons) features Iron Savior’s Piet Sielck, and Brian Tichy on drums, but other than some cool guitar licks, I found it to be a bit silly really especially when it’s paying tribute to a festival of which it can’t seem to use the “proper name...”?!?
 
“Pressure Down” features Doogie White (ex-Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Cornerstone etc.) and it’s a pretty cool hard rocking song that could have been also a tad heavier I suppose. Doogie seems to be in impressively good form… ?! It’s also dead funny how he asks – you think so? At the closing of the song?! Priceless!!!!
 
The duo of Voss/Sweeney along with keyboard player and original keyboard player of Rainbow Tony Carey do reprise “Run with the Wolf” quite, faithfully, only tampering a bit with the chorus, to make it a bit more “dramatic” in presentation... I suppose... it’s all good.
 
“Cry Wolf” finds ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley and ex-Europe guitarist Kee Marcello collaborating in a 10 minute long track that really goes through a lot of different moods and phases and is pretty epic in scope as it is in execution.
 
Finally there’s “Kid Raw” with V/S and Herman Rarebell on drums which is offered as a bonus... it’s a bit of a throwaway rock ‘n roller... it’s ok, but nothing to really lose your head over.
 
While certainly better than the debut – “Cry Wolf” is still patchy and no better than the sum of its parts.