Category: B.O.W

B.O.W, the brotherhood led by drummer & producer Tommy Lopez and songwriter Vladimir Emelin presents its sixth studio album “Drops Of Black“, a work that revives the organic essence of traditional Hard Rock / AOR.
B.O.W (Brotherhood Of Wolves), the back up band which contributed to the final legacy of Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep), has been releasing very strong albums by themselves on a regular basis since formed about six years ago.
Emelin, lyricist for the entire last album of Hensley, and Lopez who also wrote all the music and play keyboards on this new CD, this time go a darker delivery – the album title speaks for itself – however retaining B.O.W’s melodic core. This new approach benefits the new material creating more atmospheric passages than before, adding mystery and interest to the songs.
It’s always refreshing to hear a song rooted in mid‑tempo AOR that avoids the predictable structures, opting instead for a more mature arrangement. The same applies to the hard rock tracks: each carries the essential groove, but replaces melting riffs with bolder, more defined scales.
While B.O.W’s early albums revolved around classic Melodic Hard Rock and AOR, their previous expanded into rock‑pop, heavy funk, and even blues‑tinged hard rock. With ”Drops Of Black”, the band now embraces an almost progressive spirit – ”progressive” in the sense of evolving traditional Hard Rock and AOR skeleton – don’t worry, B.O.W’s music is still very melodic and catchy…

Since formed a few years ago, melodic hard rockers B.O.W (Brotherhood Of Wolves) have been consistent releasing new material and after 2022’s ‘A Dump of Twisted Destinies’ now they are presenting the fresh opus “Chasing Shadows“. B.O.W formed in Spain by drummer Tommy Lopez and lyricist Vladimir Emelin, both collaborating with the late Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep) on his last record. After Hensley’s death, they decided to launch this classic melodic hard rock band.
With a classic style from the ’80s and some AOR splashes here and here, “Chasing Shadows” is modern in terms of production, however with a timeless spirit, convincing riffs and concise songs.
This new album features new vocalist Diego Valdez (Drean Child, Helker) which smooth pipes perfectly fits the band’s songwriting. Former singer Marco May appears in a couple of tracks and a remix, while from Finland veteran rocker Rafa Castillo duets with Valdez on one song and performs another a sole lead.
Also from Finland, Jani Hölli (Waltari, LoveGod) provides keyboards, and as guests we find Rob Wolf, Baire, Dr. Guit on guitar and Ale Stabile on bass…

“Brotherhood Of Wolves” is B.O.W’s debut album, a project created in Spain by drummer Tommy Lopez and lyricist Vladimir Emelin, both collaborating with the late Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep) on his last record. After his death, they decided to launch this classic hard rock band with material partially wrote for Hensley, but also fresh material.
Because the pandemic, Lopez & Vladimir Emelin found plenty of time to write and arrange a lot of new songs, so decided to record the whole thing and release “Brotherhood Of Wolves” as a 2-CD debut.
And while there’s a bunch of songs to digest here – twenty-three – to be honest the consistent quality is maintained throughout the 2 discs, no filler in sight. It really helps the varied styles on offer – ranging from Seventies hard rock to Eighties melodic rock and some AOR splash here and here.
Also vocalist Marco May is a versatile singer with perfect English, and despite B.O.W’s indie origin, production & mix is really good…