28 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Written By Wolves - Single Review: Papercut

09 Dec 2021 // A review by Kev Rowland
There is no doubt that 2021 has been a hard ride emotionally for Written By Wolves. They went through the process of re-recording tracks from their ‘Secrets’ album and putting them out as The Collab Project//Secrets, baring their soul to get people talking about mental illness. Anyone who has suffered from that terrible disease knows the last thing needed is any more stress, yet they threw themselves into the spotlight for the greater good. The EP has had an incredible response and achieved exactly what it set out to do, getting more people to discuss mental illness as an illness, not a phase, or something that can be cured by someone telling the sufferer to just “cheer up already.”


In this year, of all years, they have surprised their fans by announcing they are releasing a single as a Christmas present. To those who don’t really listen to lyrics or think about music as anything more than ear candy, they will treat this “just” as a cover of a song by one of the band’s largest influences, Linkin Park. It will get played on the radio, people will buy it and thoroughly enjoy it, but let’s just think about it a little more deeply. WBW are a group of incredibly clever and perceptive people, all insanely talented, so why this band, and why this song? This isn’t just a cover, but instead is a direct continuation of what they have been working on all year. It is strange to hear this without the distinctive vocals of Chester Bennington, but as we all know he suffered with mental illness throughout his life and eventually committed suicide, while the lyrics in the first verse cannot be clearer, “Why does it feel like night today? Something in here's not right today, Why am I so uptight today? Paranoia's all I got left I don't know what stressed me first, Or how the pressure was fed, But I know just what it feels like, To have a voice in the back of my head.” This is a song about mental illness, a disease which claimed the life of one of the singers far too young.

Papercut was the first track on Linkin Park’s debut album, Hybrid Theory, the song they chose to announce their presence on the world. That release was huge, and seemingly everywhere when it came out, but it shows just how far music has come in the last 20 years ago, as WBW have taken the base song and turned absolutely everything up. Oli has his work cut out covering all the sounds created originally by Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn, but he does an amazing job and fills in the spaces so that Karl can hit the kit incredibly hard. It sounds as if he is trying to punch through the drums instead of just creating music; there is a violence and angst in his performance, which is then taken to the next level by Davie and Bahador, who keep it subdued when they need to and rip it up when the time is right. Then of course at the front is Mikey. I am sure there is nothing he cannot do vocally when he puts his mind to it and taking on the roles of both Shinoda and Bennington would be one thing, but lifting it further is just something else.

Before I played this I went back to the original, then listened to some different live versions, but still nothing prepared me for the sheer emotion and passion he delivers. That combined with his band of brothers makes for a real experience, not just a piece of music. I am sure the message portrayed on the EP was just too deep and heavy for some people, but here we see the boys taking something they love, putting their own take on it, and driving that message home in a way which is possibly more subliminal, just wrapped around a sledgehammer. When Hybrid Theory came out it seemed like everyone bought a copy, I certainly did, yet this version is simply more. More power, more realism, more passion, just more everything. If you want to hear a rock band taking something and pushing it beyond the limits, then this is it.

Rating: ( 5 / 5 )
 

About Written By Wolves

Written By Wolves are a fresh and progressive, cinematic rock band and one of the most exciting new rock acts to come from New Zealand in recent years.

Having announced themselves on the world stage with their debut release, Secrets in 2019 they then combined with some of the biggest names in Rock Music in 2021 to release The Collab Project, an EP and mental health initiative aimed at giving their fans, friends and followers a platform to talk about their mental health and a reminder that no matter what they are going through they do not have to do it alone. Featuring Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D, Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, Trenton Woodley of Hands Like Houses and Sydney Rae White of The Wild Things, the EP has received critical acclaim, millions of streams and has delighted fans worldwide.

Renowned for their highly energetic live show, the band have already shared the stage with international heavyweights such as Machine Gun Kelly, Limp Bizkit, Pendulum, Sublime With Rome, Suicidal Tendencies, Hed PE, Falling In Reverse, Escape The Fate, We The Kings, Four Year Strong, Stevie Stone, Kehlani and have recently completed 3 nationwide tours with two of New Zealand’s biggest Rock bands - Devilskin and Blindspott.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Written By Wolves

Releases

Goddess
Year: 2023
Type: EP
The Collab Project // Secrets
Year: 2021
Type: Album
Secrets
Year: 2019
Type: Album
Prologue
Year: 2018
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem