MANILA, Philippines—It has taken Wolfgang a long time to unleash the brand-new album, “Villains.” But the Basti Artadi-led rock group—which disbanded in 2002 and briefly reunited early last year—went on to end 2008, a lackluster year for loud Pinoy music, with a blistering concert at the Eastwood Plaza recently.

Eardrums must still be ringing from the battering blast of the gig, titled “Black Christmas Project,” which marked the official release of “Villains.”

Two opening acts, Powerspoonz and Razorback, were no pushovers, either, delivering enough sonic punch to prepare the crowd of about 2,000 for Wolfgang’s demolition job.

Powerspoonz harked back to the early days of rapcore when metal merged with hip hop. In reincarnating the much-maligned genre, the Cebu-based fivesome retained the crunch of heavy metal but retooled the rap vocabulary to a more politically-correct slant. The band called its music reggaeton metal-core, with the vocalist rapping with Shaggy’s bombastic flow. His delivery cut smoothly through a thick wall of sound, with songs about provincial life and Filipino pride.

Razorback, heir to a proud legacy of ’70s Pinoy rock, is often mistaken for a tribute act. For one, Tirso Ripoll’s guitar playing and onstage presence certainly owe a lot to Wally Gonzalez in the latter’s heyday with Juan de la Cruz. There’s also a certain preachy tone to Razorback’s songs, which vocalist Kevin Roy fortunately manages to subvert with his punk pose and street-wise banter with the audience.

At the gig, Razorback anchored its cacophonous sound on the barreling backbeat laid down by bassist Louie Talan, in tandem with drummer Miguel Ortigas. The rest of the band had to dig out the melodic core of their songs while keeping pace with the galloping tempo.

But it didn’t stop Razorback from putting a funky spin to its performance. “Wakasan,” “Payaso” and “Munting Paraiso” transformed its hard rock sound into a winding boogie jam. The band had no qualms using fancy effects to give its live act more color. But, sorry, it didn’t play “Giyang” for the noisy gallery.

Slam-bang rhythm

When Artadi walked onstage to signal Wolfgang’s entry, the crowd rose as one in honor of a long-lost big brother. He greeted the audience with forefingers pointed skyward, then asked, “Are we good?” An affirmative roar followed and the hour of the Wolf descended in a hail of metal chords and slam-bang rhythm.

The band opened with “Sanctified” and then moved without missing a beat to the locomotive lurch of “Beast.”

Artadi prefaced “Deathsquad” as the song that kick-started the band’s return to the scene. The new composition thrashed and burned like the band’s vintage material—guitarist Manuel Legarda’s stinging chops and bassist Mon Legaspi’s galloping rhythms still intact. New drummer Francis Aquino ably filled in the shoes of Wolfgang Gemora who’s apparently committed to another group, the US-based Lokomotiv (which Artadi likewise used to front).

Like a Sunday church congregation, the fans sang along with bent forefingers pointed onstage. It must be some kind of bonding code among Wolf heads.

Naturally, songs from earlier albums received the best response as cheers and shouting of lyrics were heard. When the band played cuts from “Villains,” the fans danced rather timidly, probably figuring out how to best appreciate the new songs. Most Wolfgang fans must have spent enough cash for tickets to see the band live and are likely to buy the new album.

Two new compositions, “John of the Cross” and “Novus is Burning,” carried similar search-and-destroy slam beats of old favorites. However, “Diaspora Mama” (also from the new record) sounded overly dramatic for a band that’s all metal business from the get-go.

Artadi stayed transfixed before the mic, rallying the faithful to have fun amid the firestorm of the band’s best hits. In many ways, Wolfgang was a jam band reveling in its precision to draw as much noise from their back catalog. The show ended with the band fusing melodic inventiveness, lyrical cleverness and third-degree loudness via the magnetic kiss-off, “Halik Ni Hudas.”

By all accounts, Wolfgang successfully shook off its six-year itch. It should be on track for bigger, louder rock ‘n’ roll nights ahead.