Wolverine
Formed: 1995
From:
Sweden
Last Known Status: Active
Background
Marcus Losbjer and Stefan Zell formed Wolverine in 1995. Stefan's younger brother Mikael joined pretty soon thereafter. In the early days the band played melodic deathmetal. A few line-up changes and three demos later Andreas "Bagge" Baglien and Carl-Henrik Landegren joined the band. Together they recorded Wolverine's fourth demo called Fervent Dream. The music had then evolved to melodic progressive-metal mixed up with some "growl-vocals", an element kept since the band's earlier days.
Shortly after the release of Fervent Dream the band got signed by Zizania Entertainment Group. Through Zizania the band released a partly re-recorded version of Fervent Dream as a mini-CD in November 1999. That same month they also performed outside Sweden for the first time in their career. Fervent Dream was received amazingly well by both media and audience. The band got amazing reviews and the CD soon sold out.
During 2000, Carl-Henrik Landegren was replaced by Per Broddesson and the band also signed on to a label called Emerald Factory which resulted in a re-release of Fervent Dream in April 2001. In July 2001, the band recorded their debut full-length album The Window Purpose at Spacelab in Kempen, Germany together with Oliver Philipps and Christian "Moschus" Moos both of Everon-fame.
In the autumn of 2001, the band parted ways with Emerald Factory and it was decided that the album would be released through DVS Records instead. A bassplayer, Thomas Jansson, also joined the band at this time since Stefan had decided to focus on his vocals.
The Window Purpose received an overwhelming reception by the fans and media. Wolverine also did a short European tour together with Canadian band Into Eternity.
In 2002 the band signed to Elitist Records, a sublabel to the much bigger Earache Records. Wolverine recorded Cold light of Monday during 2003. It proved that Wolverine was a band that wasn't afraid to try out different approaches with their music. The album scored really high points in several of Europe's leading magazines.
2005 saw the re-release of The Window Purpose, remastered and with a newly recorded version of the song Again which originally appeared on Fervent Dream. During the summer of 2005 the band, once again, went to Germany and the Spacelab studio to record the album Still. Unfortunately the band and Earache didn't see eye to eye on a few matters regarding the recording of the album. Both parties finally agreed to go separate ways. Not long thereafter Wolverine signed on to Candlelight Records and it was decided that Still would be released in June 2006.
During spring that same year Bagge left the band after 8 years as a member. He was asked to leave since his commitment to the band had faded and in order to go on as a band to be reckoned with Wolverine needed new blood. Bagge's replacement was a guy called Per Henriksson.
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Latest Wolverine News
Below is our complete Wolverine news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
Displaying records 1 - 20 of 24 1 2 Last
ProgPower USA Reveals 2013 Festival Lineup
Just following Epica's performance on the first day of ProgPower USA XIII, festival promoter Glenn Harveston revealed the lineup for ProgPower XIV, held annually at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. For 2013, Saturday's event will be held on Friday, September 6-7, 2013 and will have one less band, but Saturday there will be a triple co-headliner. The roster was revealed as the following:
Friday, Sept. 6, 2012:
Damnation Angels
Myrath
Xandria
Wolverine
Ashes of Ares
Soilwork (co-headliner)
Shadow Gallery (co-headliner)
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2012:
ReinXeed
Heaven's Cry
Wolf
Circus Maximus (co-headliner)
Armored Saint (co-headliner)
Sabaton (co-headliner) More...
Wolverine Finishes Mixing Album
Sweden's Wolverine has issued the following update about finishing the mixing process for the band's upcoming album:
"Mixing done! The mixing of the album is finished and next up is the mastering. Marcus is working on the artwork while Thomas is contributing to it with great photos. We'll let you know about a release date once the label has provided us with one."
You can also check out Wolverine's music at this location.
Wolverine Checks In With Recording Update
Stefan Zell of Sweden's Wolverine has issued the following brief update about the band's new album being mixed:
"The mixing of the upcoming album is underway in Denmark. Jacob Hansen is doing the mix and the first snippet we've heard of the opening track sounds amazing! More news on this during the coming week."
You can also hear sample Wolverine tracks through the band's MySpace page.
Wolverine Issues Recording Update
Stefan Zell of Sweden's Wolverine has issued the following brief update about the band's progress recording vocals in the studio:
"The vocals were finished today... Until the last song recorded was destroyed in some sort of computer crash. We're of course not too happy about this, especially since the vocal performance on the song was great BUT we'll re-record tomorrow. Then the vocals will be finished for sure."
You can also check out Wolverine's music via the band's official MySpace page.
Wolverine Checks In From The Studio
Stefan Zell of Sweden's Wolverine has issued the following update about the band's progress in the studio:
"The title track, 'Communication Lost,' was recorded yesterday and it sounds great! It's a pretty heavy and epic track that surely will fit nicely in future set lists.
"Done for today... We laid down vocals for 'In the quiet of dawn,' a song that we wrote three or four years ago. It went down just perfect so we also had time to re-record the choruses for the song we started this whole vocal session with. Some of the band members weren't thrilled about the vocal approach on it but now it should definitely please everyone involved. Only three songs to go."
Wolverine Issues Studio Update
Stefan Zell of Sweden's Wolverine has checked in with the following update about the band's progress in the recording studio:
"Work in the studio has finally started to run more smoothly. We had two days of technical issues that prevented us from recording properly. However, I've now completed three songs and they sound amazing. It's such a blessing to work with Oliver Philipps. Not only is he a genius when it comes to musical arrangements but he's also a dear friend which makes it all so much more enjoyable."
Wolverine Posts Third Studio Video
Sweden's Wolverine is currently in the studio recording an upcoming full-length album titled "Communication Lost." The band has posted the third video diary from the recording studio, which can be viewed below.
Wolverine Checks In With New Video Blog
Sweden's Wolverine has recently begun working on an upcoming full-length album to be titled "Communication Lost." The band has now posted a second video blog from the recording studio, which can be viewed below.
Wolverine Recording New Album
Sweden's Wolverine has begun work on an upcoming full-length album to be titled "Communication Lost." The band has now posted video footage online from their first day in the recording studio, which can be viewed below.
Wolverine Bassist Guests On New Griftegard Album
Wolverine has issued the following announcement about their bass player making a guest appearance on the upcoming Griftegård album:
"Our bassplayer, Thomas Jansson, recently recorded the bass tracks on Griftegård's upcoming album which is to be released in September this year. Griftegård, a doom metal band from Norrköping, Sweden, invited Thomas to participate in the process of making this album after a rather quick and unforseen situation which led to the original bassplayer parting ways with the band. When former Wolverine guitarist Per Broddesson, now member of Griftegård, asked whether Thomas could come to Norrköping and help out, there was no way he was going to miss the opportunity to work with a band that he highly appreciates. Thomas will join Griftegård on the Hamburg gig due 18 July, where they will play together with The Devil's Blood."
Wolverine Reveals New Album Title
Swedish heavy metal act Wolverine has posted a new message online updating fans on the bands current situations. The update reads as follows: "It has been a long time since we last updated this homepage. We want to say we are sorry about this, and we are looking to better ourselves when it comes to regular updates.
"Time flies and there are numerous things to attend to in life: full time jobs and full time education; family life as well as social life in general—you all know how the story goes, right? As you might know we have not been very productive the past few years, and after the summer of 2008 we pretty much decided to part ways and discontinue further activities in the name of Wolverine. The band was no longer to be. Even though we had already begun to work with new material for a future album release, we felt that it was a pointless struggle to continue. There was simply too much conflict and too little dedication regarding Wolverine. And considering the positive reception Still had earned in several reviews and from our dedicated fans all over the world, we felt that at least we could put an end to the band’s misery and still (!) be satisfied with what we had accomplished.
"However, we decided upon a change of direction. During the rehearsals for the upcoming gigs at ProgPower Europe 2008, we had such a good time! It was such a blast to just play together, and it felt like such a waste just to throw everything away and terminate the band. As it turns out we agreed upon trying to make things work and make an effort to put more energy into working with Wolverine. Being on stage during the ProgPower festival also served as great motivation to us—playing in Baarlo, once again, was a fantastic experience! For those of you who came to the show to see us perform: thank you for being there!
"Right now we are working on the upcoming album titled 'Communication Lost.' Some of the songs have been lying around for quite some time now, and we are eager to finalize the basic structures of the material and record it as soon as we possibly can. We promise to provide more information as we are progressing. Thank you for staying with us!"
Wolverine Bassist Checks In
Thomas Jansson, the bass player for Swedish metal Wolverine, has posted the following report online:
"Just wanted to jot down a few lines regarding the progress of our upcoming album. We have been working rather frequently on recording demo-versions of the songs to be sent to the label for approval. The tracks will most likely be sent within a week's time. All material for the album has not yet been written and arranged, but we are getting there - we have all the ideas we need! Now it's just a matter of finalizing the 'basic' arrangements for the last few songs. When this is done, further details will be added more easily. Now chew on this for a while and dwell in your own fantasies about the future emotional treats we will try to provide you music-wise."
Wolverine Set To Record New Album
Swedish progressive metal act Wolverine has been working on their new album for three years running, and according to drummer Marcus Losbjer the recording will be taking place soon. He issued the following update:
"I’m looking forward to FINALLY record the new album, after more than 3! years of writing in a limbo! The absence of inspiration have been really severe this time. This album have been a struggle to write, by far the most difficult album to puzzle together out of all the Wolverine albums. It’s the complete opposite to the last album (Still) that was a dream to write. It was fast and actually quite easy!
As you may have read on forums, myspace and so on, we’ve had more difficulties to deal with this year than just the minor problems concerning the band. The heart problems with Stefan's daughter has maybe been the toughest. A reminder of how fragile we are! Everything has been mixed into a big melting-pot, just ready to explode! Thankfully, it didn’t. After the ProgPower Europe gigs in October, we found a little spark to lighten the inspiration again, this time I hope it will never go as ice-cold as it has been!"
Wolverine Posts Tour Update
Swedish metal act Wolverine has posted the following message online:
"We're back from ProgPower Europe 2008 and what a great weekend it was. It was a blast to meet all our friends as well as new acquaintances. As you may know we played two sets. The set on Saturday was basically the same set as when we opened the first edition of PP back 1999. Unfortunately we had to cut one song ('Post Life') due to the fact that the festival were behind schedule. There was also one song ('Miles Away') that we played in -99 but never recorded. We did film the show in -99 but when we came back home we discovered there was no sound on the film... So it's a lost song. We suffered from bad sound on stage as well as being pretty stressed up because of the hasty line-check we did right before the curtain went up. People seemed to like the show though so we were pretty happy about it anyway.
"The set on Sunday lasted an hour and consisted of songs from all our albums, except for 'Fervent Dream'. We also threw in 'Post Life' which was a highlight for me. This time around we had a fantastic sound on stage and we didn't have to hurry through our line-check the way we did the day before. What a difference it was! Thanks to that and a wonderful audience I think it's safe to say we did one of our best shows ever. We loved every minute of it so thank you to all who supported us that night. It meant the world to us! More...
Alarum To Play ProgPower Fest With Cynic
Australian prog death metallers Alarum have been confirmed for the tenth-anniversary edition of the ProgPower Europe festival, set to take place from the 3rd to the 5th of October at JC Sjiwa in Baarlo, The Netherlands. It will be a very special performance as it is a one-off European show. The festival billing is now shaping up as follows:
Friday, October 3:
PAGAN'S MIND (NOR)
ATROX (NOR)
DIVISION BY ZERO (POL)
Saturday, October 4:
CYNIC (USA)
ZERO HOUR (USA)
ALARUM (AUS)
WOLVERINE (SWE) *
[to be announced]
CILICE (HOL)
Sunday, October 5:
THRESHOLD (UK)
WOLVERINE (SWE) **
MYRATH (TUN)
SUSPYRE (USA)
PATHOSRAY (IT)
21 EYES OF RUBY (HOL)
* 1999 setlist (when WOLVERINE played the first-ever ProgPower Europe)
** Regular setlist
Wolverine Cancels Rock The Mountain Festival Date
Swedish metallers WOLVERINE have cancelled their appearance the Rock The Mountain Festival in Söderhamn, Sweden on July 22nd. According to an update:
"Once again we are sorry to say that we have been forced to cancel an upcoming gig.
"The reason for the cancellation is that Stefan's (Zell - singer) daughter was born with a heart-condition. She didn't need immediate surgery at birth but now she's taken a turn for the worse so Stefan and his family will travel to Gothenburg which is one of two cities in Sweden that are able to perform the surgery needed. They will be in Gothenburg over the next weekend and that's when the gig was supposed to take place." More...
Wolverine Are In Writing Mode
Drummer Marcus Losbjer of the Swedish metallers WOLVERINE has issued the following update:
"A couple of weekends ago I went down to Stockholm to continue writing songs for the next album. Me, Per [Henriksson, keyboards] and Thomas [Jansson, bass] gathered in a small rehearsal room in Nacka. I must say it was a kind of new experience for us all, writing songs with only keys, bass and drums. In the end we came up with quite a few new interesting ideas and we feel that we're really getting closer completing the basic tracks for the album."
"Generally, the way the songwriting process goes at the moment, is me and Per recording and sending ideas to eachother at home. This way of songwriting is much more now that it was for the 'Still' album, and with Per, as a new member of the band, writing songs works very well. It sends a new fresh and different vibe to it all, I really think you'll notice that!" More...
Wolverine Cancel Prog Power Appearance
Swedish metallers WOLVERINE have been forced to cancel their appearance at the 2008 edition of ProgPower UK, will take place on March 28th and 29th in Bristol, UK. A statement from the band reads as follows:
"It’s with very mixed feelings we have to announce that Wolverine will not be playing at ProgPower UK 2008 after all. We had really been looking forward to this show after hearing only great things about it. We do however have a really good reason for not being there. The thing is that, if all goes well, Stefan (Zell - vocals) and his wife Jamina are having a child by the end of March. They just found out and are of course thrilled about this. At first we thought that we might make it to the gig anyway but since the birth then was scheduled until only 11 days before the show and it’s the first time Jamina gives birth it’s possible (and even likely) that it won’t take place until during or after the show. The option of Stefan going to the show and risking not being there when the child arrives isn’t really an option for obvious reasons.
We hope we can make it up to those of you who were looking forward to seeing us play, at a later date. Until then we’ll put all our energy into completing the next album which, so far, is taking shape pretty nicely.
We also want to express our gratitude towards the crew at ProgPower UK for being so understanding and supportive about this situation, they have really been tremendous. It just confirms all the great things people have been telling us about this festival and the people behind it.
We are really sorry to have to let our fans down by canceling this show but at the same time we hope you understand the complexity of the situation we’re in. And as we mentioned earlier, we’ll do all we can to make it up to you! Thank you."
Wolverine Part with Keyboardist
Sweden's WOLVERINE have parted ways with keyboardist Andreas "Bagge" Baglien. The group's official statement on the matter reads as follows:
"It's with great sadness we have to announce that Bagge has left the band. Bagge has played with us since 1998 and he is like a brother to all of us so this is by far the toughest decision we've ever had to make within the band. However, it became clear after playing with Per Henriksson for the last few months (he stepped in to replace Bagge temporarily while Bagge was away for work for a few months) that we needed to bring him in full-time in order for the band to truly blossom again. I'm sure Bagge is the first to tell you that his contribution to the band during the last year or so hasn't been what it used to be. I won't go into any more detail on the matter since Bagge will post a message on our messageboard shortly announcing his departure and feelings regarding the whole thing.
"The entire band wishes Bagge all the best in the future. He is a truly talented musician and his ability to write great and interesting music is enormous. We also want to thank him for all 8 amazing years. We've been through a lot and it's been a blast! Thank you! At the same time, we would like to welcome Per Henriksson to the band. He's been playing with us for a few months now and everything has worked out amazingly well. We've done two gigs with him already and we had the best of times. He is a great player and and equally great guy. Info on him will be posted as soon as possible so you can dig into his past. Once again, welcome Per!"
As previously reported, Candlelight Records has set a June 26 release date for the new album WOLVERINE, entitled "Still".
"Still" was recorded in part at Spacelab studio in Tönisvorst, Germany. The follow-up to 2003's "Cold Light of Monday" was produced by Oliver Philipps, Christian "Moschus" Moos and WOLVERINE and was mixed at the end of August.
Wolverine Signs With Candlelight Records
Swedish melodic metal/prog/death band Wolverine have officially signed with Candlelight Records. Originally formed in 1995, the band has previously released material with Elitist/Earache Records. Here's a statement from the band:
"We can at last announce that Wolverine has signed with Candlelight Records. We've been in touch with various labels and as it turned out Candlelight came up with the best offer by far. The past 6 months have been really hard for the band and with the split from Earache topping it all off it's extremely nice to have found a new 'home.' There is no release date set for [our new album] 'Still' yet but we'll announce it really soon. It's about time the album sees the light of day because we all promise you that some of our best songs are on that album. We definitely want to share them with our fans as soon as humanly possible."
