Wolfpack Unleashed Bio

“Combine TESTAMENT riffing with MEGADETH harmonies and METALLICA-style vocals – but without stealing anything – you get an idea of the WOLFPACK UNLEASHED sound.“ — Wops Koch, WPU guitarist

A natural-born leader and never a follower of the latest trends, Koch chose to dedicate himself to Thrash Metal and formed a band in 1995: “When we started making music, our home country was mostly known for Death and Black Metal.”

Though the early musical beginnings favored the style of the Germanic Thrash bands, Koch soon evolved to incorporate the sound of the Bay Area Thrash Metal greats–precise, melodic, yet heavy — such as Metallica, Exodus, Megadeth, or Testament. Koch states, “I realized quickly that all classic Thrash riffs had already been written, so we used minor chords and melodies to create a unique sound.”

Though the band split up, Koch soon met the pride of the Düsseldorf Drummers Institute, Daniel Haberl, and the duo formed WPU in January 2005. Shortly thereafter, the band recruited Karl Preininger, a highly technical and skilled guitar player.

Koch et al had a clear picture of the vocalist-to-be that would complete this line-up. “We didn’t want a screamer who kills all harmonies and melodies by barking all time. That’s the way most other modern Thrash bands do it, and each time they sound like a crappy version of Slayer. Günther (Wirth) has a natural, rough voice that fits our music perfectly.”

The band worked on the first songs and finished their demo, The Art Of Resistance, in early 2006. Rather than knocking on the doors of random labels, WPU released the demo on their own, sending it off to selected media outlets.

The four Austrians took their home country by storm, immediately earning the respect of the international underground media, which was quick to recognize WPU’s talents. Rock Hard Italy wrote “a logical evolution of METALLICA´s Golden Age” and voted The Art Of Resistance as best demo of the month. Germany’s Heavy Magazine praised WPU as “a furious Thrash-firework.” Legacy Magazine was reminded of “METALLICA back in the Master of Puppet days and old MEGADETH releases.” And the German Metal Hammer heard a “mixture of MEGADETH’s Rust in Peace and METALLICA´s Black album — on speed.”

Armed with the fantastic feedback coming from both the fans and press alike, WPU approached several record labels, finally signing on to Napalm Records.

Anthems Of Resistance voices precisely that for which WPU stands for: intelligent, technically superb, melodic Thrash Metal that covers a wide stylistic spectrum to include fast, double bass-inspired tracks (“Last Dance Of A Dying King”), as well as mid-tempo stompers (“Next Victim”), and high-speed Thrash massacres (“Religion Of Control”).

Lyrically, WPU unapologetically tackles the hypocritical views inherent in today’s society, including classic anti-war themes in their songs, which clearly express their views about religious extremism. The Austrians also provoke with lyrics about Beethoven’s final hours (“Eroica”), abuse, abortion, and personal loss.

The trite trends of the day prove the antithesis of WOLFPACK UNLEASHED. Koch states, “We don’t have breakdowns, nor hip-hop beats, nor stylish tattoos paid by daddy, and certainly no emo haircuts. Thrash is not music with which to get rich fast. It’s music for the idealist.”