BLESS those Scandinavians, they certainly know how to bash out a heavy tune or two. Norwegian group Wolves Like Us are one of latest upstarts to continue this fine tradition of riffage from the land of the ice and snow.

As a follow-up to 2010’s Late Love, this is a good – but not great – offering that ranges from post-hardcore influences in the early stages to touches of Mastodonesque prog on the closer, Thanatos Wins Again, buoyed by Lars Kristensen’s passionate vocals. Though not as inventive or extreme as many of their regional contemporaries, this quartet has, four years after birth, found a knack for solid contemporary hard rock anthems.

Steven Cookson