By Hour Of The Wolf

Released May 3, 2007

Tracklist

1. Taking Out The Trash
2. Black Blood
3. Set The Trash On Fire
4. Animals Hot In Heat
5. Blue Recluse
6. Feeling Cheated
7. Heavy Living

ScenePointBlank.com

Hour of the Wolf are one of the best punk bands in America—trust me. It's a familiar story, kind of a Zen thing (like the tree falling in a vacant forest), but The World Is Different Now: thanks to the Internet, the local band you always knew to be better than any national contenders can now play in the big leagues, gathering converts online as well as on tour. And they will; they already have. Hour of the Wolf has already begun to amass a following outside of their native Arizona - a following that can only grow, leaving us Arizonans to nod like proud parents at native sons who hit home runs. Born in Prescott, Hour of the Wolf - who may or may not be named after an episode of the television show Babylon 5, an Ingmar Bergman movie, or a concept akin to “The Witching Hour” -play a kind of punk that zine ad copy might bill as “rock and roll influenced hardcore,” which usually just means that the guitar parts sound less like “Out of Step” and more like “Do You No Wrong.” But Hour of the Wolf are anything but formulaic, and they succeed where so many others have failed: on the strength of their songs. A dirty secret: songwriting makes hardcore. To a large extent songwriting makes any form of music, but we all know the truth: many doom metallers can scrape by with the right pastiche of vintage gear, and a lot of noise artists fall back on a battery of exotic effects pedals rather than any actual aesthetic merit. Repeat ad nauseam with the genre of your choice. Minor Threat weren't just an innovative punk band; they were first-rate songwriters. And one of the big reasons why Hour of the Wolf is so special is that they can actually write a tune. This band channels the back-alley, fire-breathing menace of Poison Idea, mixed with a whoa'd hookiness gene-spliced from Danzig's hair follicles or even the fingernails of an hungry young A.F.I., plus just a dash of Billy Zoom's silver-flaked glitter guitar—but under duress, like he'd been kidnapped and forced to supply his Chuck Berry-isms at gunpoint. The guitars actually have a nervous, amphetamine-addled edge that almost conjures up the ghost of Drive Like Jehu. It's a potent mix. Instead of coming off like empty placeholders for something mercurial that's gone tepid, Hour of the Wolf molest some of rock and roll's stale signifiers until they actually sound dangerous again. Waste Makes Waste diverges a bit from the band's first recording, Power of the Wolf: the band sounds rougher, sharper, and even nastier than before, a shift signaled most by how singer Lance dials back his golden-throated “Last Caress”-isms slightly, favoring a more kerosene-gargling bark. Don't fret, there are still opportunities to get your whoa on—but as the liner notes promise/threaten, “no Pro Tools or nothin' . . . In other words, what we shit is what you get.” Thank God/Satan The last record offered a cover of Black Flag's “Fix Me” as a hidden track; this time they do an even more inspired and scorched take of Mission of Burma's “That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate,” further cementing the fact that this punk ain't boilerplate. And Hour of the Wolf's covers sound the way they should: tossed off like a pinch of salt over the shoulder, an afterthought compared to their original jams. There's not too much else to say. Too few bands today are playing inspired, ferocious punk rock. The downside of having more and more punk records available than ever is that too many would-be connoisseurs spend their time valorizing second-rate bullshit in an attempt to seem like dumpster-diving aesthetes. Don't fall into this trap. Hour of the Wolf play punk the way it should be: raw and unapologetic. I don't say this very often, so take note: buy now or fucking pose. 9/10

PastePunk.com

If you're a fan of THE BRONX, but would prefer a little less Los Angeles sleaze in your music, look no further than Arizona's HOUR OF THE WOLF, a punk rock band that likens itself to THE MISFITS and MOTORHEAD, and doesn't look like chumps because of that. On this Waste Makes Waste EP, a follow-up to 2005's Power of the Wolf MCD, the band hones in their sharp sound with compact, 2 and a half minute-or-less tunes, busy bass lines, and raw, screaming guitars. Vocalist Lance Miller is a snarlin' beast throughout the EP's 15 minutes, but he doesn't garble his lyrics, and the lucidness of it all is pleasantly comforting. Waste Makes Waste was recorded entirely in analog with producer Bob Hoag and mastered by the folks at the Blasting Room. The end result is something that feels decidedly gritty but warm, especially in the lead guitars on opener "Taking Out The Trash," and the blitzin' three-chord thrashin' follow-up "Black Blood." If there was a word opposite to sterile that wasn't as cliche as "dirty" for punk rock, I'd be using it right here. Great stuff!

EctoMag.com

With their roots planted in the early days of punk and garage, Hour of the Wolf spits out tunes that are just fucking catchy as hell, that you can't help but want to blast as loud as your ears can stand as you drive down the street. Tunes like Black Blood with its infectious shout a long pieces and Animals Hot in Heat with its layered sound are the kind of songs that will amp you up for whatever mischief may be on the days menu.

Adequacy.net

I've been sitting on this EP for a while, and it's finally time I give it some print. Hour of the Wolf dishes out seven ragers in a familiar fashion. Imagine The Bronx getting trashed and pulling an all nighter to write an EP in their basement and you have the breeding grounds for Hour of the Wolf. This is the soundtrack for driving like an absolute idiot, or anything else deemed sketchy. Waste Makes Waste is a conglomeration of rock and hardcore glistening in sweat, with a few surf riffs for good measure (like the one that opens the CD). The live energy translates 100% on record, but these fellas from Arizona also have substance to offer. Even though you may not be able to understand all the words, the hoarse chorus from "Taking Out the Trash" is catchy as hell, but be forewarned: it will get stuck in your head. "Heavy Living" bears that chunky guitar sound of the Cro-Mags, yet another selling point. From the liner notes: "This was recorded completely analog, no Pro Tools or nothin'. In other words, what we shit is what you get." I wouldn't want it any other way.

ECRomper.com

Arizona’s Hour Of The Wolf deliver up a big slab of raw, old school sounding hardcore punk. Imagine The Explosion mixed with a bit of Black Flag and a spoonful of Street Dogs and you get a decent idea of Hour Of The Wolf’s heavy but catchy songs. I liked Set The Trash On Fire, Blue Recluse and Heavy Living the best. Waste Makes Waste is an powerful blast to the head and singer Lance's vocals have a Henry Rollins quality to them. There’s even a hidden track bringing the total to eight.

GeekBurger.com

Anyone craving a fix of uproarious, rampaging rock ‘n’ roll –- and who isn’t? -– need look no further than Arizona’s Hour of the Wolf. Their Think Fast! debut, Waste Makes Waste, is dirty coffin-core at its finest, a carnage-spilling glee-fest from the possessed recesses of mania. And, fitting for punk-rock that sounds straight from the boarded-up garage of the neighborhood’s mysterious residents, Hour of the Wolf hacks away inexhaustibly. Screams, shouts, howls and crazed exultations rev and roar like a garbage disposal disintegrating bone, while guitars rip and grind like rusted chainsaws; but the panicked rock-‘n’-riffing, short and stellar, is uncommonly addictive, with the right balance of clean-toned excursions countering the distortion. The pummeling percussion is blunt force trauma of the highest order, while the bass quakes like a horde of stampeding zombies. With a knack for incorporating earlier-era rock ‘n’ roll into a grimy, modern punk rock package –- “Taking Out the Trash” opens the album with a breath of the Beach Boys surf-rock before melting into screams and distortion –- Hour of the Wolf not only channels but tops The Bronx, and justifies mentions of the Misfits. I couldn’t be happier to report Waste Makes Waste -- albeit lean at 20 minutes of actual music -- is nothing but fist-pumping, scream-along filth. Though a thick wall of crust covers this Blasting Room mastered masterpiece, it’s as memorable as the most finely tuned pop-punk. For the sake of sanitation, it’s a good thing all garbage isn’t so indispensable. 8/10

Outburn

DIRTY ROUGH AND NASTY: Somewhere between Social Distortion, Rocket from the Crypt minus the horn section, and Give 'Em Enough Rope-era Clash lies Hour Of The Wolf's new release on Think Fast! Records. Waste Makes Waste is a fast and furious seven song set that, from the last note of the roaring closer "Heavy Living," fairly begs to be spun again. The only real knock against this short blast punk 'n' roll is-despite how proficient and galvanizing the songs may be-there really isn't anything new under this particular sun. The more boldly abrasive tracks begin to touch upon something a bit more original, but Hour Of The Wolf-a fivesome from Prescott, Arizona-is not quite there yet. Still, there is much to be admired in a band that can marry a punk sneer with fist pumping anthems as capably as Hour Of The Wolf has on Waste Makes Waste. Reinventing the wheel would definitely take some steam out of the engine. No fan of this style of music wants that or, indeed, would be likely to accept it. They want the power and the glory, and on Waste Makes Waste, they'll find it. It is not difficult to imagine Hour Of The Wolf blowing the doors off your local rock club when that live show comes to town.

HowsYourEdge.com

These dudes play a melodic style of hardcore punk. Think Strike Anywhere with less clapping (not that I don't love Strike Anywhere. But I'm not so keen on the fast clap that is popping up at shows. I'll pass on that, thank you). This cd comes in with 7 songs topping 24 minutes. Now you're thinking, "That's over 3 minutes a track. That's not punk rock." BUT, the last track is 11 minutes with probably 8 of filler and then there is a bonus track. Plus some weird glass breaking or bubble wrap popping. That was actually a little creepy sounding. An enjoyable cd overall. I'm a little disappointed they weren't on the Bane/The Geeks/DTN/Ambitions leg of the tour I saw recently. Perhaps, next time. If you live in Phoenix or Tucson, you are in luck. The record release for this album is this weekend. Quit sleeping.

HardTimes.ca

Significant Findings: Imagine, as difficult as it may be, just for a moment that the 90’s never happened. Or at least not the way they did, having been consumed like a human hand in a tank full of piranhas by the heavy metal genre born a decade earlier. Listening to the Arizona punk’n’roll throwback outfit, Hour Of The Wolf, anyone cognizant of what the punk and hardcore scenes were brewing up in the underground prior to the turn of the decade would recognize these guys as the natural progression of the 80’s that should have been. It’s no wonder throngs of kids new to the underground these days are constantly jocking bands like The Misfits, Poison Idea, Minor Threat, The Descendents, Black Flag, and The Ramones with a kind of sincere admiration they simply could not fake if they tried. Prior to the old-school revival chipping away at the metal veneer cast over the hardcore scene, the aforementioned bands would seldom get the credit or respect earned in decades past because kids were too busy chugging their guitars and dancing like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While this humble writer was not one to dance with any degree of regularity, metal was the style-du-jour and, much like hardcore has always been, the scene during those years was a take-it-or-leave-it affair. Easily one of the tightest, catchiest, most studied, and most passionate of the new wave of punk/hardcore bands, Hour Of The Wolf make it sound so easy on “Waste Makes Waste,” a full-length that has been out for a good while already but will not be forgotten anytime soon. They are naturals much in the sense Motorhead were and still are. The word “timeless” could definitely be used to describe the material on “Waste Makes Haste” as the songs do not particularly relate to the now, nor necessarily to the past, but instead to the realities of life. Things that everybody with some degree of self-respect can relate to (and even those people seem to be shrinking in number), like calling out cheaters and hypocrites, dealing with depression, living in the slums, and the co-dependency of need. Guitar leads hum along frantically like they used to among real punk bands, with strained, howled vocals punctuating epic passages atop them, moving the listener every step of the way. Possible Diagnosis: This is an album of old-time rock’n’roll on speed, which was essentially the original formula for the punk that people of all generations are finding it impossible to shake from their collections. A recent split CD with arguably the biggest hope for hardcore, California’s Lewd Acts, only solidifies that Hour Of The Wolf are on the cusp of something real, and something pure. Kids will definitely be getting Hour Of The Wolf tattoos in no time, as will kids 20 years from now. Recomendation: Maybe if more bands made the effort to be authentic like Hour Of The Wolf succeed at doing, there would be more attention to the current punk scene and less spent on the old.