This second album by Swedish progressive metal band Wolverine should have been released months ago. Due to technical problems the album had to be re-recorded and re-mixed which caused about half a year of delay. Wolverine clearly didn’t go through all this trouble for nothing, Cold Light of Monday is a worthy efford and sounds great.

Some four years ago Wolverine impressed with their debut album The Window Purpose. Comparing this release with the music on Cold Light of Monday shows that Wolverine took a new approach to their music. Heavy metal riffs and grunts made way for emotional and moody metal prog rock. Listening to the first couple of tracks one is reminded of Anathema’s A Fine Day to Exit and Opeth’s Damnation.

Looking at the different tracks on this concept album, “Sarah”, “Tightrope” and “The Final Redemption” stand out because of their strong rhytms and driving vocal melodies.

The rhythm section in general is one of the best aspects on the album. Take for example the song “Red Canvas”. This exceptional piece of drumming and percussion experiment evolves into the mysterious “Dusk”. Slow and moody rhythms are exchanged with outbursts of instrumental violence. The range of the vocals is overwhelming. There is a lot of diversity in melody, sound and emotion.

There is a lot more to say about Cold Light of Monday, but you better just buy the album and explore it yourselve. If you liked A Fine Day to Exit you will love Cold Light of Monday!