Review Summary: Haste The Day offers their most promising release, full of technical guitar work, terrific lyricism, and unique sound.
Haste The Day approaches the release of their fifth record, Attack of the Wolf King, with only one of the remaining members (Michael Murphy), but with the same rigor of the kids that formed the band in 2001. Attack is vivacious, aggressive, heartfelt, and perhaps HTD’s best effort in their career. With an evolution of the sound from darker tones of Dreamer and the atmospheric Pressure the Hinges, Haste The Day shows greater technicality and emotional vulnerability.
Following the departure of the Chaulk brothers from Haste The Day, the area of singing (read “clean vocals”) was left vacant. Stephen Keech, the lead vocalist (screams) since the 2007’s Pressure the Hinges, rarely sang, instead opting to take a backseat to Brennan and Devin Chaulk when a chorus came around. This all changes on Attack of the Wolf King. Keech steps up and showcases his singing chops on most songs on Attack, most notably on “Wake Up the Sun”, “Travesty”, and “The Place That Most Deny”. Keech, however, does show that his singing is still in the development stages on tracks such as “Merit for Sadness”, where the backing vocals and production try to mask his lack of control. But, for what Keech lacks in vocal ability, he makes up for in the raw emotion the listener feels in his delivery. While Keech carries 90 percent of the vocal workload on Attack, he receives support from Murphy on “White as Snow”, which showcases the strongest singing performance (from both Keech and Murphy) on the whole record. The screaming performance on Attack is passionate and rarely departs from Keech’s established register. The listener will not find any monstrous growls or any devilish highs (a la Jimmy Ryan, former HTD vocalist). Instead, Attack presents an emotional performance and terrific example of Keech’s consistency in his screaming range.
Throughout Attack, the lyrics are heartfelt and well-executed, though at times cryptic and epic in tone. While bands that share the genre with HTD tend towards the corny, sappy, or outright ludicrous, Attack shows a mature group of songwriters that are careful in their word choice, and thoughtful in their metaphors and imagery. Keech’s desperate delivery of “No, don't let him in! Though he is dressed like the rest of us / He has the jackal's eyes!” is a prime example of the hauntingly dark imagery, as well as the metaphorical focus on animals (mostly of the canine variety) employed throughout the album. “Travesty” is the most sincere and touching lyrical output on the record (“You cover the darkest part of me… With love that the blindest eyes will see”) while maintaining the dark imagery (“The eyes of death are upon me… With idle minds we grew unconscious as the hunter stalks his prey”).
Sonically, Haste The Day straddles the line of melody and aggressiveness well, presenting the listener with both heavy-hitting breakdowns as well as catchy, melodic choruses. “Walk With a Crooked Spine” displays a longer performance of Keech’s singing that would seem docile when put against the rest of the record, but is followed by a crushing breakdown. HTD handles the juxtaposition of light against dark/ soft versus heavy expertly throughout the record, but is best exemplified in the closing track. The short closer is split between an ambient introduction and a driving close to the record, with the lyrics declaring “My name is darkness / and I have uncloaked my face to the light”. Guitarists Scotty Whelan and Dave Krysl offer what is, without a doubt, the most technically proficient and intricate guitar work ever displayed on a HTD record. While there is plenty chugging and riffing on Attack, the record is packed with blistering leads and well-placed fills that round out the sound of each track. Overall, the record is produced incredibly well, with pounding bass and snappy drums that don’t overtake any other aspect of the music.
Attack of the Wolf King is to date the best record put forth by Haste The Day, and, despite its few shortcomings, will be a benchmark for the genre for a good long while. Of course, there are those of us in the HTD fan base that will pine for the days of “American Love” and “When Everything Falls”, but this record shows the band at its most skilled and focused. And at its best.
