WOLFGANG used to scare me. I always considered myself a rocker, but heavy metal was always a little beyond my comfort zone even if I was very much exposed to it by my brother and friends from high school. Sepultura, Megadeath, Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica and Wolfgang. Even their names were scary. It was just too raw for my untrained ear, at the time.

But catching a gig of theirs, either at Mayrics or Kalye (it was over 10 years ago), I saw what the attraction was. It was riveting and intense. Wolfgang had power and command of the stage. They frightened me, but they made me take notice.

It?s been a year since their reunion concert last year with Razorback, and six years since ?Black Mantra.? Now they are back in a string of concerts and a new album, ?Villains.?

The record is a testimony to the wonders of technology for it was written by the band from three different cities?San Francisco (Basti Artadi, vocals), Hong Kong (Mon Legaspi, bass), and Manila (Manuel Legarda, guitars and Francis Aquino, drums).

The album is also the first Filipino release straight into the digital format. Time has passed and Wolfgang have not only rested on their laurels, they?ve adapted to the world around them to bring something new to the table for their fans who have been eagerly awaiting a new release.

I saw them again in the ?Villains? press con and I wondered what I was so scared about as a kid. Not much has changed, maybe they are a little older and if I?m not mistaken, Basti has shorter hair now. They spoke eloquently about their music and the band, once again commanding the stage, even if they weren?t performing.

They insisted they never quit or disbanded, they just stopped doing gigs because of geographical hindrances.

But Wolfgang is back. And it?s not fear that I?m feeling any more. I?m actually intrigued to hear what they?ve got for today?s music scene. Let the ?Kings of Philippine metal? show these kids how it?s done.

Excerpts from the press conference:

It?s been six years since ?Black Mantra.? What is it like to put together and write an album again after a long time, especially since you guys are based in different cities?

Basti: It was actually surprisingly easy. Our basis for the entire thing was when we wrote the first song, which was ?RP Death Squad,? and that?s how we realized, ?Hey! There is a way to do this without actually being in the same place.? If that song had fallen apart or didn?t work out, I don?t think we would have been able to push through with the album. Since we were on our own timeline, that helped also?there was no pressure and we were able to make sure that every song we finished was, in fact, finished.

What?s the album about?

Basti: Theme-wise, it was just basically writing. There was no central theme I was trying to put out there. I just wrote a song and wrote the next song and the next song. It just happened that after everything was written, looking back, we kinda noticed there was a theme; it was ?Villains? and that?s the album?s name. It just kind of worked out that way.

How has your music changed over the years?

Mon: I?d say these were more streamlined. We?ve sort of bared it down to a more direct ?aural assault.? It?s more brutal and direct to the point.

Can we expect a lot more in the coming years? Would you come back to the Philippines and work together again more often?

Basti: That?s very possible. We?ve proven it can work, writing from across continents. So I don?t see why we won?t continue. As long as the creative juices are flowing, we?re good.

We don?t have to wait another six years again?

Manuel: I don?t think so. (smiles)

All tracks for ?Villains? are available for download at http://wap.smart.com.ph/wolfgang or from the Smart Music Store powered by myMusic.ph.