Hailing from Long Island, New York comes a 5-piece, straight-edge, metalcore band named The World We Knew. If you’re unfamiliar with these guys, you should get familiar with them right away. They’ve recently joined the ranks at Stillborn Records (Hatebreed, Thy Will Be Done), and are touring with some of the best in the biz right now (Throwdown, Bury Your Dead).

With all that said, maybe you’re already wanting to check these guys out, and, well, you should. To The Wolves is their debut album on Stillborn Records. This cd is a solid album all the way through.

“To The Wolves” is the title track, which sets the tone of the cd perfectly. Frank on vocals has an amazing vocal range. He can go from screaming to singing, and right back to screaming without missing a breath. Killer riff right from the beginning of the song, and well-placed breakdowns were really encouraging for the rest of the album. One thing that I noticed in this first song is how well the transitioning is throughout their songs. Each song is extremely well thought out and planned.

“Newsflash,” the third song on the album really stood out because it shows off the melodic approach that The World We Knew is capable of bringing. The chorus of this song is extremely catchy, and will get stuck in your head. And this isn’t some wuss-ridden, melodic song either. There’s a ton of all out relentless energy throughout this song.

There’s really not a single “mandatory skipped” song on To The Wolves. It’s a “start it and let the whole cd play” kind of an album. I would normally go into detail about a few more of the highlight songs, but quite honestly, this whole album is a highlight. Each song is a precursor to another solid song.

With vocals that are aggressive (yet melodic when they need to be), killer guitar riffs, and an equally matched rhythm section all combine for a great metal music listening experience. The World We Knew has easily become one of my top bands and To The Wolves will be in high rotation in my music library.

If you’re a fan of Bury Your Dead and/or Throwdown, you really need to check out The World We Knew and To The Wolves.

4.0/5