Glorious Wolf is a project from Dutch musician Ruud Dielen. After playing in various bands, he released a debut solo instrumental album, Aquarius, in 2017. A first physical album, Zodiac, followed in 2019, and you can listen to his work on his Bandcamp page at https://gloriouswolf.bandcamp.com/
2023’s Mysterious Traveler is my introduction to him, and it is a very ambitious album dealing with the state of our world – unrest, wars, and climate change, all subjects that those of us who take notice care about deeply and, I suspect, quietly share a sense of despair at the manner in which our beloved “leaders” address them.
Before we discuss the music, a word about the stunning artwork by maestro Ed Unitsky, which adds massive value to the musical product. I have reproduced some examples of this here.
The lineup on the album is Dielen himself, a multi-instrumentalist who provides electric and acoustic guitars, electric & fretless bass, ebow & slide guitar, vintage keyboards, voice and percussion; Kike Paglia on drums; alongside vocalists Celia van Onna and Frank van der Borg on the opening track.
We start, then, with Repentance in which demiurge cries, as well he might seeing the peril in which his creation has been put. It opens with a feel reminiscent of those classic days of yore when Rush told tales of sword & sorcery and immortal demagogues, but as it develops there is more of a sort of hotchpotch of influences rooted in classic 70’s rock with some striking old style keyboards and a deeply melodic bass riff noticeable throughout. Moving towards the close there is a downright filthy guitar riff, oozing with passion.
Slow Down is an eight minutes plus instrumental which shows some very different influences and textures from the opener, almost Americana in its steel guitar impact and swirling organs to begin. Paglia impresses on drums here and the opening passage is clever in pushing a relentless pace forcing the listener to realise that Dielen is exhibiting musically the relentless damage being done environmentally at pace. The guitar chords as the narrative changes to a plea just short of three minutes in is plaintive and together with the keys, percussion, and bass take their lead from pre-DSOTM Floyd. It is a well performed and quite clearly loving tribute. As the track moves to its denouement, the mood is darker with its swirling cymbals before the opening passage is reprised. I have embedded it below.
The True Story is the first we hear of Celia Van Onna. This is a similar length to the previous piece and opens with a very pretty drum lead and her just hinting at what is to come. There is a delicate mood created here very much epitomised by the ghostly guitar chords and the voice. When the words kick in, the way Van Onna sings of waiting for the Earthsong is suitably plaintive and there is some quite lovely pastoral music here in a very thoughtful piece of music which has some fine electric guitar work toward the close. It is also embedded below for you to hear.
Howling at the Moon puts me in mind of those classic Hammer movies I used to love as a younger man – The Curse of the Werewolf starred a young Oliver Reed and was a marvellous yarn. The music here evokes that spirit with the riffs and an urgent rhythm section describing the transition from man to beast, and the torment caused, very well. There is some wonderful mellotron work here for fans of the classic era.
The title track is next. There is a subdued feel to the start, and the mood is to these ears that of those wonderful westerns detailing the passage of cattlemen and their steers in the long journey through the Midwest states. Some very detailed drumming work, bass as lead, and some evocative guitar chords create the expansive scene. I really like this piece, and it is embedded below. Very clever and very good in the finest tradition of an instrumental telling a story without the need for words.
Battlefield follows. I think this is another very solid storytelling effort as an instrumental. War is completely filling the news headlines at the moment, and this track provides for a clever evocation of the scene, with, yes, some crunching riffs and swirling keys evoking the full-blown battle, but also some very effective quieter passages reflecting the fact that much of war is, in fact, very slow moving and quite stultifying for the participants. In amongst this, there are some fine jazzy vibes from bass & drums and the track grows to a pulsating conclusion as the battle plays out.
Beautifully Broken closes the album, and this is split into two parts (and I think that the way this is done brings with it the promise of future instalments). It sees the return of van Onna on vocals, and it is a very impressive performance telling a story I relate to strongly, the fact that our modern corporate culture is a virus spreading its maleficent impact upon planet and society, and her voice carries with it a very suitable yearning fragility. The keys and mournful guitars accompany this perfectly in a passage of music which packs an emotional punch and fulsome sound. As this segues into the second part, we get an instrumental imbibed with classic 70’s psych rock with the Floydian influence again very strong and more than a hint of Latimer in the closing stages.
Mysterious Traveler is a good album. The musicianship is never anything less than superb, and Oscar Holleman has done an excellent job on the mastering side. I like the stories told and this is a very honest album worthy of your exploration.