Returning with their fifth album, the Christian metal band Haste the Day puts out something amazing. Attack of the Wolf King is the heaviest album they have produced since their beginning in 2004 and is actually their first album to be classified as metal. The style of the band has changed since “Burning Bridges” and even a lot since  “Dreamer.” Before, the band was classified as rock, and the music had more of a rock feel to it, but now, it is noticeably changed to sound more metal. The music is heavier, the songs having more screaming and a deeper scream with more breakdowns within the songs.

The songs all have their own beauty and the vocals themselves are sung with great skill. When they sing in their songs, it doesn’t sound like they are crying or whining instead of singing.  The songs “Dogs like Vultures” and “Travesty” have a very smooth transition between the screaming and the vocals adding to the songs value and making it an easier listen. “Travesty” alone has an amazing guitar that really shows the rock and metal background that the band has. “White As Snow” features no screaming, but all vocals. The song acts as a retreat from the album’s metal base and gives the listeners a smooth song to enjoy. It is a slow song and a very calm song, different from anything else on the album. It features a double kick still, and the guitar is heavy during the chorus. “The Place That Most Deny” is the heaviest song on the album. It has a beautiful and heavy guitar and drums. The guitar switches from a rock sound, to a metal when the chorus ends. Great transition from screaming to vocals are heard from verse to chorus and back. To top it off, Micah Kinard from the band “Oh, Sleeper,” screams a solo, and does vocals towards the end of the song.

Not only is the music itself good, but the message is also of high quality and is picked out easily. I’m going to use the song “Dogs Like Vultures” as an example. In the Bible it talks about how the Lord is our shepherd, and we are the sheep. He protects us from the horrors, and dangers of the world. A shepherd also protects his flock from wolves, other wise known as “dogs like vultures.” The chorus of the song says “We’ve been sent with eyes to see them and ears to hear their steps. Our hearts are softer than the sheep.” The shepherd, God, has the keen eyesight and hearing to see the bad things before they arrive, and He has a kind heart. “We’ve been known to calm the storm and silence the ocean. With strength to spare you from their teeth.” It shows how the power of God has instantly calmed a storm and the ocean, which is also a story in the Bible, and how if He can do that, there should be no doubt in our minds that He will keep us safe from the worlds “dogs like vultures” and the Wolf King.