Haste the Day - Attack of the Wolf King (2010)

Solid State Records, June 29, 2010

Tracklist

1.Wake Up the Sun

2. Dog Like Vultures

3.The Quiet, Deadly Ticking

4. Travesty

5.Merit for Sadness

6.The Un-Manifest

7. The Place Where Most Deny
8. White As Snow
9. Crush Resistance
10. Walk With a Crooked Spin
11. My Name is Darkness

This entry is one in a series of ten-year retrospectives from my favorite albums of 2010.

There seems to be a theme of wolves within Christian metalcore, with bands such as Wolves at the Gate and To Speak of Wolves making their mark in the scene.  Before Wolves at the Gate released their debut album, there was Attack of the Wolf King, which I consider to be Haste the Day’s best and most engaging album by a wide margin.  The band has had some lineup changes over the years most notably with original harsh vocalist Jimmy Ryan leaving before Pressure the Hinges and returning after the band reunited.  The band has definitely made some catchy and memorable songs over the years like “Stitches”, “Chorus of Angels” and “When Everything Falls”, but the albums themselves tended to be follow a similar formula the whole way through.  Attack of the Wolf King, however, mixes different styles and moods showing different creative ideas and within the metalcore genre.

This album is not short of standout tracks.  “Travesty” has an upbeat chorus and sounds bright and uplifting, while “Crush Resistance” is aggressive and menacing.  Taking a slower approach but still heavily guitar driven is “White As Snow”.  This song follows an alternative metal style and is capped off with an excellent guitar riff that stands in place of a bridge.  As one would infer from the title and cover art, the lyrics are themed around sheep and wolves (and also include multiple references to jackals).  Stephen Keech's vocals also are much improved from his first album, particularly the lower range screaming.  

The songwriting is another strong point, as the songs use metaphors to tell a story and making good use of imagery.  Some of the songs are rather clear in terms of their message like "Travesty", which talks about grace, while others like "Walk With a Crooked Spine" are more ambiguous.  The sheep and wolf theme stays consistent throughout the album, and it's a nicely done concept record.  As a whole, Attack of the Wolf King is easily the most interesting and diverse album Haste the Day has released.  It earns a score of 8/10.