UMUR
"What a Time to Be Alive" is the second full-length studio album by Australian death metal act Werewolves. The album was released through Prosthetic Records in Jaunary 2021, less than a year after the release of their debut full-length studio alhum "The Dead Are Screaming" from April 2020. Werewolves formed in 2019 and features Psycroptic drummer David Haley in the lineup. Guitarist Matt Wilcock and lead vocalist/bassist Sam Bean are both associated with acts like Abramelin, The Antichrist Imperium, and The Berzerker, and the trio can in that respect be called an Australian underground extreme metal supergroup.
Stylistically the material on "What a Time to Be Alive" is a continuation of the relatively standard quality deathgrind of "The Dead Are Screaming" (2020). The two albums sound much alike, and if you enjoyed the debut, chances are you´ll enjoy this one just as much. Werewolves are a well playing unit, and the shifts between deep growling vocals and higher pitched aggressive snarling works well here. As mentioned above the songwriting is pretty standard for the genre though, and not much stands out as being particularly memorable beyond the playing time.
"What a Time to Be Alive" is well produced, featuring a sound production which suits the material well, but overall I get the same feeling about this one as I did with the debut album. Something is missing for this to reach excellence. Still a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.