The Black Flame＜限定盤/Turquoise Vinyl＞

Not since the late '80s has there been such an influx of new metal bands unabashedly worshipping Iron Maiden. Countless new metal bands were sprouting up circa the early 21st century that obviously could play the whole Number of the Beast album backwards and forwards -- including Sweden's Wolf. Perhaps borrowing from their chief musical influence's penchant for writing about the darker side of life, Wolf's fourth release overall, 2006's The Black Flame, just happens to share the same title as a magazine published by the Church of Satan. Singer/guitarist Niklas Olsson still walks the fine line between Sebastian Bach and Bruce Dickinson on "I Will Kill Again," while Olsson and Johannes Losback have perfected their dual guitar harmonies (which, once again, are highly reminiscent of Maiden) on "At the Graveyard." Heck, Wolf even chooses to close their album with an epic composition -- "Children of the Black Flame" -- just like their favorite band usually does (and should we mention that Maiden has a similarly titled song, "Children of the Damned"?). Overall, The Black Flame is custom-made for fans of studded-wristband-pointy-guitar metal. ~ Greg Prato