Review by Daniel for Entombed - Wolverine Blues (1993)

1993 was a really interesting year for death metal. The subgenre had peaked a couple of years earlier & was now going from strength to strength as far as popularity & commercial acceptance went but people were starting to question the longevity of the movement given the limited sonic tool kit with which the artists had to work with & this led to various different approaches being employed by the protagonists of the subgenre. On the one hand you had those that elected to simply refine the existing model without taking too many risks. Morbid Angel, Brutality & Dismember all fell into this camp with their 1993 releases. And then we had those that realized that death metal couldn’t be sustained long-term without continuing to challenge the status quo with bands like Death, Atheist & Carcass all pushing the limitations of the subgenre to new extremes. 

The first two albums from Swedish death metal gods Entombed had been primarily responsible for the formation of the then thriving Swedish death metal scene. 1990’s “Left Hand Path” had wet my palette with a new & grimier sound based around their now legendary signature Boss HM-2 pedal driven guitar crunch but it was 1991’s “Clandestine” album that really saw me becoming a crazed fan. It was a much more complex & sophisticated outing that saw the band extending themselves as not only musicians but also as genuine artists. But if 1993’s follow-up “Wolverine Blues” is anything to go by then it’s safe to assume that Entombed had pushed the traditional death metal sound as far they thought it could go. 

I can still remember my feelings upon giving “Wolverine Blues” my first spin after rushing out to pick it up immediately on release. Confusion would be a very good word for it really. I was genuinely confused by what I was hearing. It wasn’t that what I was hearing was all that “bad”. It was that it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Carcass would take me to a similar place with their “Heartwork” album only a few weeks later but I think “Wolverine Blues” was a little more alienating for me initially as I wasn’t even sure that this was a death metal record at all. I definitely got the feeling that it might be a grower but I wasn’t all that sure that I wanted to invest the time required to see to be honest. I was a complete death metal nut at the time & the scene was absolutely chock full of great death metal in the mid 90’s. So why would I bother to see if I could push through the initial barricades that were preventing me from gaining full enjoyment with this record? It was because “Wolverine Blues” sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before & I got the distinct sense that I might be hearing something that would set the tone for the future of metal. I wasn’t sure I was onboard with it mind you but I wanted to see where it would go. 

Now if you’re already familiar with Entombed’s earlier work then don’t expect to find “Wolverine Blues” to be completely foreign to your ears. The band’s signature elements are all still there & you’ll immediately know who you’re listening to. It’s just that those elements have been used in a different way & it’s resulted in a more fresh & noticeably accessible take on the death metal model. For example, the rhythm guitar sound is not as dominant in the mix here with the rhythm section take on a more authoritative position. Particularly the bass guitar of Lars Rosenberg which is positively huge. This gives the production job a real punch during those heavy-hitting moments where the band comes together in unison. 

The overall tempo of this material is obviously more mid-paced than Entombed’s previous works & the song-writing utilizes more traditional verse-chorus-verse song structures than the anything-goes type arrangement that death metal bands had generally employed in the early 90’s. These two elements immediately give “Wolverine Blues” a more accessible feel but there were actual hooks here too. In fact, it’s difficult to think of a more “catchy” death metal record & that was a little hard to stomach for some fans (me included). The vocal delivery of LG Petrov could no longer be described as a growl or a grunt either. It was much more of a bark & had a lot more to do with hardcore punk than it did with death metal but this didn’t give it any less aggression to be honest. It was just…. different.  

Instrumentally, there’d been a subtle change in the style of the riffs on “Wolverine Blues” with many of them possessing a groove that I’d associate more with stoner metal. Black Sabbath’s “Vol 4” album regularly springs to mind actually. Particularly during the doomier sections. The guitar solos also have a noticeably more bluesy feel to them that seems to have been drawn from 70’s hard rock while the drumming employed during these solos definitely seems to be trying to accentuate that by opting for beats that sit a lot more comfortably in the rock camp than the metal one. In fact, it seems like the band were using these solos as a sort of crescendo on many of these songs as the atmosphere lightens up, the tempo becomes more up-beat & you can imagine the audience all starting to rock out a little more. I can’t say that this concept appeals to me all that much but it was certainly very different.  

Nicke Andersson’s drumming had been the highlight of the “Clandestine” album. He was always the creative genius behind Entombed & one gets the feeling that he was the mastermind behind the change of direction with “Wolverine Blues” too as his drumming is the catalyst for the change in atmosphere it pervades. His hard-hitting style is still in full effect but there’s a much rockier feel to a lot of this material & that’s the main element that detractors find isolating. I certainly fell into that camp initially but time saw me becoming more comfortable with it after I’d accepted that Entombed were now a very different beast. 

Look I’m not going to sit here & tell you that I like Entombed Mk II as much as Entombed Mk I. Well at least not as much as I do “Clandestine”. I would have much preferred a more standard death metal offering at the time & would suggest that this is probably still the case. But I’d be lying if I claimed that the charm of “Wolverine Blues” didn't open up to me over time. If you allow the hooks to dig their teeth in then they very likely will & there are no weak tracks here. The attention to detail that marks an elite member of any subgenre is still well & truly in effect here & Entombed always had a rare talent for writing transitions that see all of the band members coming together with an inimitable crunch. This is indeed still some hard-hitting metal music. I’m just not sure that it’s death metal so I’ve never been comfortable with that tag. But if not death metal… then what? I’m not too sure but the death ‘n’ roll label would seem to be about as good as any in the grand scheme of things & I’m yet to hear any example of that sound that matches this initial foray in the two & a half decades since so I recommend that you ignore the negativity of the death metal purists out there & go into “Wolverine Blues” with an open mind. You may just find that you like what you hear. In fact, I slightly prefer it over “Left Hand Path” these days if I’m completely honest.