It's good to know that rock music isn't truly dead. Sure, the coroner has been called out many times to check the corpse, but as long as albums like this are around, there will be a bit of pulse left in the ol’ body. Here is yet another recontexualization of the various fragments of rock in the past four decades into a unique brew that doesn’t specifically sound like any previous band, but the vibe of their legacies are definitely there.
It's not tough to hear fragments of 1960s and '70s hard rock, a bit of progressive rock, a dash of 1980s post punk, and more contemporary sludge and drone metal. The opener, "Things Will Grow" makes for probably the most conventional piece to be found here with its pounding tribal drum opening (channeling Big Paul Ferguson from vintage Killing Joke) over which some harsh grating post-punk guitar lines and buried echoed vocals. Again, there are vestiges of other bands in the sound, but nothing that feels stolen or copied, just influenced.
That overblown "prog" sound does rear its Rick Wakeman attired head in a few of the longer tracks, but in the best possible way. Rather than through pretentious soloing or flute solos by elves, it is more in the form of longer tracks with more dynamic variation, like the closer. "Nervous Buzzing" starts out minimal and stripped down over electronic vibrations before slowly segueing in guitar and drums which blast into full on chaotic noise. It then ends on a gentle duo of bass and guitar. Even more prog is the 18 minute "Magic Jordan," which opens slow and with a choral backing that slides into some good old '70s hard rock riffing that gets thicker as the vocals get more and more harsh and violent. It is eventually stripped away into chimes and guitar solos much less violent but more expansive.
The sound never goes into full on wankery, thankfully. Things do stay more grounded in a hard rock vibe though, like the vaguely Sabbath guitar and chaotic drums with melodic (but still metal) vocals on "Tungsten Steel-Epilogue" that speeds up to hardcore thrash for a while and then slows WAY down to Khanate-like glacial pace. The more blues-rock lurch of the genre creeps in on "Kross," which becomes more about the space between the distorted riffs than the actual guitar.
It is always refreshing to hear different takes on rock/metal, considering how stagnant the genre seems to be at times. Just as soon as it seems like there is nothing new to happen, a band like Wildildlife comes along and puts a new spin on things while keeping true to their roots to give listeners a frame of reference that feels familiar, but still new.
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