It’s hard to believe it’s been almost three years since DL Laskiewicz joined Bad Wolves and hit the ground running with Dear Monsters. The band didn’t lose a step and they’re back with their fourth album and 2nd with DL in Die About It and they’ve upped the ante even more.
With this being the first record without guitarists Chris Cain and Max Karron as official members, the first thing that stands out about Die About It is the intro, which is completely out of left field- but in a good way- and is the band’s way of making a statement, letting you know this is not the Bad Wolves you might be used to. Then it rips into “Bad Friend,” a familiar track that has the signature heavy approach you’ve come to love from the band but then they hit you with the title track, which is the first true taste of change for the band.
“Die About It” features a darker musical approach with rapping vocals that really takes you off guard before they hit you with “Savior” and “Hungry For Life,” both of which take you down their own twists and turns of their own.
Current single “Legends Never Die” is the first time the band really shines on the record- not to sell the rest of the songs short but this one is so strong and such an anthem that it gives you goosebumps when the song hits into gear.
“NDA” is yet another one that stands on its own and shows the band taking chances. It has multiple identities and genre changes- 80’s pop rock, modern hard rock and smooth jazz, complete with saxophone- and it works to perfection.
Buried and nestled deep in between more strong hard rock flexing is “It’s You (2 Months),” which features KILLBOY and is one of the best songs Bad Wolves have ever written. Everything from the lyrics- “It hits me like a napalm bomb colliding with a hand grenade that breaks my bones when crashing through the barricades. I’m losing hope, there’s only one place I escape. It’s you.”
This song is so gorgeous, grand and elegant, DL and KILLBOY’s vocals compliment each other so flawlessly that it gives you chills. This song makes the album worth listening to on its own and should be a frontrunner to become the surprise hit- not just of this album but for the band’s career and could surpass “Zombie” as fan favorite song.
In the end, Die About It shows the band venturing out of their comfort zone, leaving limits behind and taking chances they haven’t taken before for one reason or another. This is heavy metal art at it’s best and is a record the band can truly be proud of. Bad Wolves aren’t just back- they’ve reinvented themselves and created a new Bad Wolves that’s better than ever.
Rating: 9.5/10
-Reggie Edwards