I would not know the guys from The Fucking Wrath from Adam if they were walking down the street. Maybe that's the point, three working Joes that crank up the volume when not doing their day jobs. The first time I heard of this band was not long before I heard their debut Season of Evil, which is this loud beast that we are talking about now.
Maybe it's just me but as the opening riff of "Ride the Lighter" takes a long time to make a point, then after the Ghostbusters II (a funny movie, but these guys steal what might be the only "evil" sounding line from the whole film to announce their album title) sample a different breed of music comes to life. What you get here seems to be a pretty decent mix of d-beat hardcore punk with doom-y, "Sabbath-y" type rock. I do like the way they intersperse their sound with elements of both sounds; doing so breaks the proceedings up fairly well and adds a bit of variety for listeners. "The Womb" has some strong moments, particularly in the arrangement of the song itself; the song moves in the right way and the end trips you up into thinking there might be a huge Sabbath-esque jam, but alas, they only fool you with it (which is probably for the best as it would have been predictable). "Past Your Grave" is another cooking track; it reminds me of another band that I dig (that being Coliseum). "Hell Flies Tonight" contains my favorite bit on the whole record with the almost boogie part that just makes the song; it definitely brought a smile to my face.
My biggest complaint is that Season of Evil is not heavy sounding, at all. Instead of a pounding bass sound and vicious guitars, you get a real even keeled production job. The guitars sound like fuzzed out buzz saws, but the effect loses power with the lackluster sound of the bottom end. This saddles the album with a mediocre overall sound that would come off as thin sounding if the band members did not have such a good sound. Season of Evil would sound so much better and heavier with more bottom.
Overall this record shows a promising "new" band that could make some noise later; this album just misses with the "off" production. With a heavier sound on record, The Fucking Wrath could definitely make some heads turn. They are one of those bands that you can imagine just kills it live.
