Album Review: Gallows – Orchestra of Wolves

If you could get in to a time machine and go back to 2006, then once there go to Luton Airport and head over to the HMV, you would find a fifteen year old me standing on the precipice of making one of the most important decisions I would make in terms of my friends, lifestyle, tattoos and music taste.

On one side System Of A Down’s Steal this Album, an album my friends were encouraging me to buy and would have represented me following their music taste, something I’d been doing for the past year or so. On the other side Gallows’ Orchestra of Wolves, a band I had discovered on my own that was something different to all the Kerrang! bands I’d been listening to. You’ve obviously guessed by the title I chose Gallows and by doing so I changed my life. I have a lot of sentimental value invested in this album so it’s about time I reviewed it. Life story over.

“Kill the Rhythm is a pounding fast track that takes you on a tour of what Gallows have to offer. Brutal, unhinged vocals, furious guitar, heavy bass and pounding drums that tell the listener “abandon hope all ye who enter here”...guitars are like beat down hardcore and leave the listener dazed and confused by the speed and force of the album.”

Gallows are a five piece pioneering hardcore band from Watford. They are responsible for the revival of the genre in the UK over the past few years and though some people see them as the Metallica of the genre (as in they are influential but everyone likes them), most other bands wouldn’t exist without them. Unfortunately this glorious debut was followed by a not so good second release which was more like a long moan than an album. Lead singer Frank Carter’s departure from the band marked the end of their golden age and the band have since sunk into the scene with rising stars Your Demise leading the charge for the UK.

Opening track Kill the Rhythm is a pounding fast track that takes you on a tour of what Gallows have to offer. Brutal, unhinged vocals, furious guitar, heavy bass and pounding drums that tell the listener “abandon hope all ye who enter here”.  Abandon Ship is a metaphor about a bad relationship. “Mayday, mayday the captains lost control again and no one can f*****g swim.” Carter’s lyrics are top notch on this album, being funny but with a clear and concise point. The guitars are like beat down hardcore and leave the listener dazed and confused by the speed and force of the album.

Gallows most famous track In The Belly of a Shark is one of the catchiest punk rock anthems you will ever hear and I implore you to go listen to it. The bass is juicy, the riff stupidly awesome and again Carter’s vocals are breathtaking. “So here I lie! In the Belly of a Shark, so f*****g cold and so f*****g dark”. Does it make sense? No! Is it awesome? Yes, but I don’t know why.

“Carter is a hypocrite and this can be seen throughout his career. In this album he sings about stabbing rapists but on their second album he sings about how knife crime is disgusting and cowardly and all issues should be settled with the “Queensbury Rules”. Apart from that this is an amazing tour de force of anger and passion. A must for any hardcore fans.”

Will Someone Shoot that F*****g Snake is a taste of Carter’s opinionated lyrics that would lead to the bands downfall after their second album. However unlike the second album this song has a subject that everyone can happily get behind and sing along to. This song is about people who spike girls’ drinks. This song is violently angry and it’s clear the band must have some sort of experience in the matter as most of the band join in with a chant of “You are dead!”. Carter is terrifying as he screams “Blackening her name, screaming in her face, I’m gonna drown you in the f*****g rain, will someone shoot that f*****g snake!” Title track Orchestra of Wolves is where the band let their hair down a bit. The song subject is lighter hearted, if a little sexist. I’m not going to directly quote it but rest assured it involves buying girls non-alcoholic drinks so they don’t ahem pass out before Carter can get them home.

I give this album 9 out of 10. It’s a brilliant punk rock/hardcore record that manages to be incredibly fun and energetic at the same time as being serious and angrier then hell and damnation. I have two issues with the album. Firstly some of the songs I didn’t mention are dull and sometimes I faze out while I’m listening. Secondly Carter is a hypocrite and this can be seen throughout his career. In this album he sings about stabbing rapists but on their second album he sings about how knife crime is disgusting and cowardly and all issues should be settled with the “Queensbury Rules”. Apart from that this is an amazing tour de force of anger and passion. A must for any hardcore fans.

For Fans Of: Old Your Demise, Blackholes

Listen to: Orchestra of Wolves, Abandon Ship, In the Belly of a Shark