5th June 2025

Review: “Slaves Of The Wolf” by Bear Mace

Five years after their last taped confession in 2020’s “Charred Field Of Slaughter“, vocalist Chris Scearce, guitarists Mark Sugar (Black Sites) and Tommy Bellino, drummer Garry Naples (Contrition, Novembers Doom, Wizzo) and bassist John Porada return with their third studio album “Slaves Of The Wolf“. The Chicago Death Metal act better known as Bear Mace have made the best of their budget for that with Sanford Parker (Leviathan, Modern Life Is War, Nachtmystium) at Hypercube Studios handling the engineering. Then they went to Damian Herring (Horrendous, Blood Incantation, Hellripper) for the mixing and mastering of their cryptic writings that are both aggressive and deeply narrative as they pay homage to the roots of Death Metal.

Death Thrash riffs ignite the towering inferno of the title track “Slaves of the Wolf” which burns with white heat, the bellowed death growls making way for a Trivium like intertwining solo from the twin guitar attack. The tale itself is something akin to that of the Pied Piper, the slaves marching off to die as Scearce demonstrates his fierce storytelling prowess, cutting against the rapid fire guitars perfectly. An incisive commentary on modern society’s existential crises “Worthless Lives” is equally as electrically paced, the quintet masters of telling tales from the darker side of the tracks with an old school Death Metal soundtrack. As with this album as a whole, there is a plethora of thought provoking narrative to be digested once the headbanging is over so a vinyl copy with a lyric sheet is vital. A spellbinding solo lights up “Drown Them In Their Blood” as Scearce talks about going deep into enemy territory to annihilate them in the dead of night. There is no mistaking the Bolt Thrower like nuances on this one and while its a little slower it’s no less intense. The tale of Richard Kuklinski is told in “The Iceman Cometh“, as the serial killer purported to have murdered over 200 people is given an entrance song. The mesmerising leads and solo are enough to cause smoke to rise from the fretboards of the guitars as the full on rampage destroys everything in its path. What’s great about it is that the drums have been given special attention to get a clean, crisp and full sound meaning as a package everything sounds sharp. It’s certainly not a Death Metal record that sounds like it was recorded in a cave on a potato claiming to be nostalgic.

A guest of the stature of Kam Lee of Massacre is the icing on this metaphorical cake and he joins for the groove laden “Captured And Consumed” which is an absolute ripper about atrocities committed in World War II. Ferociously told this haunting tale is another classic moment of homage as the band tip their collective hats to the bands that made the 80’s and early 90’s part of a golden age for Death Metal. The depth of the lyrical narrative is a thing of beauty, as is the craftsmanship when it comes to the music. Slayer influence creeps in with “Heretics Burn” a track which houses arguably the finest performance from drummer Garry Naples upon. He gets creative with his fills and footwork as Sugar and Bellino pull out some more ripping solos to keep you on your toes. The net result is a masterclass in Death Thrash, as the warriors show the pretenders just how its done. Throwing their bullets in the fire and running like hell, the breakneck speed of “Prophecy” makes it an almighty onslaught of bombastic rhythms resurrecting ancient evil. Reflecting on our dystopian reality with poignant lyrics and relentless riffs “Cancerous Winds” sounds like it could be the tale of the Chernobyl disaster. This final piece of the puzzle rounds off the collection in style, the cliché that is all killer no filler very much applying here. If someone asks you what Metal is, this is the kind of record you can hand them and say check this out. Its that good [8/10]

Track Listing