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| Photo by DeGross Punk Photography Text by Cosmo Lee |
PR is not something most nascent bands worry about. Their first concerns are usually stable lineups, local shows, and maybe a demo or two. But right out of the box Wolvhammer got called “racists,” which led to the requisite Internet damage control.
The issue was this: the Minneapolis band’s logo (see kick drum above) resembles that of the Hammerskins, a white power organization whose logo evidently comes from the fictional neo-Nazi group in Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Phil Freeman called them out on this here. They rebutted the allegations, which led to Freeman’s retraction here. For all involved, this was an unnecessary mess.
Now that the issue is settled — “working class,” not “racist” — the focus can return to music. It’s good: blackened, sludgy punk. Celtic Frost, Darkthrone, and Eyehategod are certainly influences.
Two things stand out. The songs are memorable, with measured pacing that highlights actual riffs. The vocals are like rusty blades. This stuff is usually disposable — the world does not need another 7″ petroleum product — but Wolvhammer have that certain something that staying power requires.
You can download their two demos for free here. The second, Dawn of the 4th, is essentially a reworking of the first. I’m not the type to fetishize demos, but I hear some raw power here.
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Problem is, they used the claw hammer and something that looks like the gear (can't see with the fuzziness of that picture) which is the logo of the HammerSkins.
The Working Class hammer logos as far as I've seen don't use claw hammer but rather a more rectangular hammer that mimics the hammer used in the "hammer and sickle" logo. That hammer was specifically used to represent the worker which is why I suppose it caught on and was used from there on.
You could go ahead and blame the people pointing fingers as ignorant but I think the band takes some of the blame for not doing thier homework on something they decided to use to represent themselves.
And to make matters worse, it appears that there is a NS metal band called Wolf Hammer and another one called WolfHammer Division.
So even thier name can be confused with racism as well.
I think people froth at the mouth just waiting to point out something controversial and will do anything to get attention. These guys shouldn't have to defend anything they do. The people who want to complain should've done their homework, not the band.
Or it could be that the band doesn't know jack shit about working class anything and jumped on the first thing they thought it was for thier image. Damn posers!!!
people froth at the mouth just waiting to point out something controversial and will do anything to get attention.
Sounds to me like it's working the other way around.
I don't think the band created their logo because it would cause controvery but stranger things have happened I guess.
The song "Cobrafist" reminded me of the first Machine Head album but with unintelligible vocals.
Now here's something many white folks with liberal arts degrees lose sleep over, which translates to lots of blog posts and OTM Internet discussion.
The music makes me want to drink a Pabst 24 at 11 in the morning, not oppress someone based on race or ethnicity. Am I doing something wrong?
This stuff is actually pretty good.
It's good shit.
Rob,
The "gear" is a unicursal hexagram, and that completely agrees with their personal statements if you look into its use. If you change the style of the hammers, you end up with the Judge logo ? something all punk musicians are familiar with, militant straight edge.
Anyways, the hammer in the hammer and sickle symbolizes industry, with the "whole" symbolizing power of the worker; sounds like you need to do YOUR homework too.
The symbols alone have no racist history, but how can you know every logo? Yeah, there's a slight resemblance, but it's bullshit to say that they deserve the "nazi stamp of death" just because you're too much of a pussy to get past a similarity and enjoy the music.
I believe Dan has it right up there, and also, the guy in the band who does their artwork I've known for years, and he grew up learning carpentry from his dad. I'm guessing the "evil racist claw hammer" maybe made a little more sense to him to use in the artwork. I'll bet a couple of you have at least one "racist claw hammer" in your house to occasionally fix things or hang a picture. If not, pick one up, they are a very handy tool, and I promise you won't be racist after you touch it, or after you check out this bands face ripping take on crusty black metal.