Eponymous - Seasons of the Wolf

Missed the Boat
by: scott muenzler

Hehe, ok, here goes… According to the bio that I got with this one, these guys (and one female in it the present lineup) got together waaaaaaay back in 1988…but somehow did not become a "working act" until 1994. Apparently in awe of the entire 80's music scene, particularly such keyboard-heavy acts as post-Sacred Heart Dio as well as lesser known acts like Keel, these Florida-based rock soldiers decided they could do it too. Thus began six years of striving to gain the status of "working" while perfecting their brand of slowly-becoming-retro metal, oblivious to the passage of time.

The result (as of 1996, which is when this was released) is a product akin to any nomad tribe found to live the same lives as their ancestors have lived for 4000 years previously, albeit not quite as interesting. Here there are no claims to animal spirits, nor good drugs to help you attain the proper state in which to meet them. No, instead we get song titles like "Victim of Darkness", "October Moon", and "Long Cold Winter" (hmm…I seem to recall such a name from near the end of glam rock's reign…those who were faithful Headbanger's Ball viewers know what I'm talkin 'bout, hehe) and the attendant medieval glam metal riffs and vocals, completely unaffected by the passage of time. In some ways, I have to kinda admire these guys. For one thing, these guys at least thought of playing this kind of stuff back in the day, when this stuff was still considered cutting edge by the mainstream metal crowd. So, if you stretch the definition just a bit, these guys really are old school. And unlucky. They jumped on this particular bandwagon after everyone else had left, but their hearts were in it long before that. And still they trod on. Although this cd was released in '96, the bio includes an ad for their newest effort, due out in '99. I suspect the hard times have gotten a bit easier for such an against-the-grain band due to the resurgence of retro-metal currently taking root.

Those who still find that 80's style metal is the rock that makes them roll (hehe, the cheese phrases are just so richly abundant here!) will find some merit here. The musicianship is not outstanding, but it isn't bad by any means. The production and sound are faithful to the 80's metal atmosphere they work so diligently to create. And the packaging, while also faithful to that shout-at-the-devil decade past, is actually pretty good. In fact, the cover for the new release (dubbed "Lost In Hell) looks pretty damn cool - but then I always thought lots of fire and darkness looked so cool back then, hehe.

Those who are interested can contact: Barry Waddel (941) 739-8332 or wavesta9@itd.net Or check em out at http://members.aol.com/bloodtree