Album Review: Gallows - 'Orchestra Of Wolves'

13 September 2007 | 11:08 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Hype band of the year or the real deal…

More Gallows More Gallows

Unless you’ve been living in

Darwin for the last 12 months, then you’ve heard of “Gallows”.

They’ve been branded everything from “the most dangerous live band

on the planet” to “the only punk band that really matters” and

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in the space of a year they’ve been snapped up by punk rock powerhouse

Epitaph Records and then moved over to Warner Brothers for a rumoured

$2 million!  


But are Gallows really as good

as everyone says they are? There are some great tracks on “Orchestra

Of Wolves” and it’s definitely refreshing to hear more bands using

a rawer style of production but I think I’ll wait until I see Gallows

live before jumping on the hype train. 


My biggest gripe with “Orchestra

Of Wolves” is the consistency (or lack thereof) of the track listing.

Gallows are at their strongest when they’re churning out melody laden

rock songs so when the band ventures into more experimental territory

the album seems to drag a bit. 


Album opener “Kill The Rhythm”

is indicative of what Gallows are all about. Simple, dirty guitar riffs

mixed with throaty vocals and a driving rhythm section - one can only

assume that a Gallows live show would involve a lot of crowd participation.

The lead guitar part through the track is a cool twist, bringing to

mind some of “The Blood Brothers” more melodic moments. 


“Abandon Ship” is an example

of just how great Gallows can be when they stick to what they do best…

writing melodic punk rock songs! The riff is catchy as fuck and the

more dynamic song structure and tempo changes make this one of the strongest

tracks on the record. 


The stop/start riffing of “Six

Years” made me think of “At The Drive In” and the epic mid section

of the song is easily one of the highlights of the entire record. If

you’re a fan of the emotive sounds of a band like “Modern Life Is

War” then you’ll definitely get into this track. “Rolling With

The Punches” is a great song with a foot to the floor rock beat and

a tough guitar part but the keyboards give it that extra something which

make a good song into a great one!


Although they’re talented songwriters

in their own right, Gallows are still a young band with plenty of room

left for growth and development. A lot of the songs on “Orchestra

Of Wolves” have some fairly similar riffs but if tracks like “Abandon

Ship” are anything to go by, then album number 2 could be something

special.


  1. Kill The Rhythm
  2. Come Friendly Bombs
  3. Abandon Ship
  4. In The Belly Of A Shark
  5. Six Years
  6. Rolling With The Punches
  7. Last Fight For The

    Living Dead

  8. Just