1. Zadna Ofiary Twarz 01:56
2. Nocny Strach 05:01
3. Memento Mori 07:34
4. Ksiaze Wojny 03:28
5. Upadek Imeprium 04:10
6. Grozba 03:39
7. Zemsta Msciciela 02:52
8. Noz w Dloni 03:27
9. M.C. 04:56
10. Dziewczyna Na Sprzedaz 5:49
11. Telewizja Uczy Zyc 03:50
12. Thrashers 03:22

Leszek Szpigiel - vocal;
Piotr Mańkowski - guitar;
Maciej Matuszak - guitar;
Mariusz Przybylski - bass guitar;
Tomasz Goehs – drums.

Wilczy Pająk to zespół, którego muzyka plasuje się gdzieś pomiędzy heavymetalem a thrashmetalem. Powstał w 1985 roku w Poznaniu w składzie: Leszek Szpiegiel - wokal, gitarzyści Maciej Matuszak i Piotr Mańkowski, basista Marian Przybylski oraz bębniarz Tomasz Goehs. W 1988 roku, po występie na Metalmanii, zmienił nazwę na jej anglojęzyczny odpowiednik - Wolf Spider. Płyta "Wilczy Pająk" została wydana w 1989 roku i była debiutem, jeśli chodzi o pełnowymiarowy, studyjny album. Płytą tą zespół wniósł do polskiego świata nową, zupełnie nie spotykaną do tej pory jakość. Album został zremasterowany oraz wzbogacony o bonusowe utwory - polecamy! --- wsm.serpent.pl

Wilczy Pająk were another splendid late 80’s group from the Poland metal scene, which became soon veterans on stage of many festivals before their debut was released. They recorded this album the same year Turbo put out their incredible Ostatni Wojownik in that unforgettable 1987, a crucial time for the consolidation of the Polish movement. During those days, those young musicians tried hard to play it as heavy and violent as possible, giving us the chance to enjoy truly rough records, although in the eastern Europe country they also had a big admiration for classic rock, which was constantly on early 80’s radio stations along with the punk of The Damned, UK Subs, Sex Pistols and friends. An influence they combined with the presence of NWOBHM and the Big 4 elements in their music, as you can check on this one.

The album starts with a couple of absolutely outrageous thrash numbers: “Żądna Ofiary Twarz” and “Nocny Strach”, which are more than just a topical attempt. They are so frantic, vibrant, constructed by loose riffs and an insatiable speed metal tempo, total overwhelming aggression and energy, fascinating beginning! However, not each cut here follows the same uniform pattern, “Memento Mori” or “Upadek Imperium” are also extreme and lethal, though not that thrashy, rather rapid heavy metal featuring pretty dynamic rhythms and greater instrumental progression. Soon raging thrash guitar lines reappear but there’s a majority of weightier intense huge riffing whose variations are quite constant. Structures are getting complex, instrumentally those compositions difficulty increases and the elaborated arrangements make them obtain vital consistency, keeping them away from no poor configuration. Other tunes of the pack like “Zemsta Mściciela”and “Książę Wojny” combine both vicious thrash with those amazingly slower heavy riffs, making an extraordinary combination, putting emphasis on complexity in a certainly serious professional effort plenty of stunning details and admirable virtuosism. Some of the sequences are polished, you can even find a few harmonies, Szpigiel’s vocals even get a bit mellow on “Groźba”, but don’t worry because merciless brutality is the rule here as the immense final track “M.C.” proves, alternated with certain class and sophistication in tunes like “Nóż W Dłoni”. In conclusion, a magnificent display of power and musical competence you might didn’t expect from a thrash band debut, they made a difference from the rest for sure.

This record is a bit of a mixture of both Testament and Death Angel’s debut, scandalously unpolished with some extra melody inherited from one of the Polish audience favorite groups: Iron Maiden. Still sonic violence is present in a bigger percentage than sophistication in this album, they would go further into a much technical refined pattern later but here the emphasis is mostly put on making these songs as heavy as possible. Luckily, direction is clear, each tune is properly focused and developed, with convincing creativity, skilled riffing progression and serious passages. Solos are surprisingly elaborated too, so professional, proving the great efficiency of both Mańkowski & Matuszak. Frontman Leszek’s voice is ideal for this stuff, sometimes as scruffy and dirty as Tony Portaro, other times varied and getting sentimental, totally different to the later band’s albums singer Jacky Piotrowski. Wilczy Pająk’s line-up is completed with Przybylski & the mighty Goehs on rhythmic section, which is probably not so precise and talented yet. However, those terminal speed tempos are very accurate and well-defined, while drum rolls are kinda poor and bass disappears too often. Expect no good production either, the final mix makes the whole thing sound so noisy and poor, the texture and strength of instruments is inevitably weak and cheesy but as most of young bands back then, I’m sure they couldn’t afford anything better. On other hand, production might be terrible but it doesn’t affect the motivation, attitude and promising talent of these guys music, who perform an absolutely passionate performance, trying their best aware of their limitations but avoiding simplicity, without emulating anybody else or ripping-off any riffs like other generic acts.

So here we got another superb masterpiece, terribly underrated and ignored behind the subgenre acclaimed heroes releases that hasn’t been heard enough times at all, it deserves much more attention, just like 99% of Polish vintage metal records. The band would change their name and intentions shortly afterwards, getting remarkably technical and melodic. I’m sure some still can’t believe Wolf Spider and Wilczy Pająk were the same band. In fact, Lastfm has 2 different pages for each one, unconsciously or not it’s not actually so wrong. If you compare the homonym debut with the following 3 CDs you will definitely notice tremendous differences. --- Metal_Thrasher90, metal-archives.com

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1. 	Manifestants 	04:19 	  
2. 	Pain 	04:06 	  
3. 	Black 'n' Whites 	04:06 	  
4. 	Foxes 	03:16 	  
5. 	Waiting for Sense 	04:35 	  
6. 	Desert 	04:51 	  
7. 	Sickened Nation 	04:22 	  
8. 	Nasty - Ment 	06:04 	 ( instrumental)
9. 	Survive 	03:44 	  
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10. 	Weakness 	04:29 	
11. 	S-Shop 	02:45 	 
12. 	It's Only Vodka 	06:34 	 
13. 	Zboczeńcy 	03:50 	 
14. 	Bezdomne Dzieci 	04:18 	 
15. 	Zniszczyć Mafię 	04:43

Jacky - Vocals
Tommy G. - Drums
Jeff - Bass, Vocals (backing)
Popcorn - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Mankover - Guitars, Vocals (backing)

Wilczy Pająk become Wolf Spider - 100%. In the late '90s Wilczy Pająk demonstrated they were one of the most talented and exciting bands of the stunning underground Polish scene with their memorable debut. The changes in the line-up made clear their ambitious intentions: Leszek Szpigiel was replaced by Jacek Piotrowski on vocals and Darius Popowicz took the guitar role of Maciej Matuszak who is playing bass now. These professional musicians would provide the band with more possibilities and higher skills. This album I’m about to review is the one where Wilczy Pająk became Wolf Spider. It’s not only a matter of changing names, it also meant a complete change in their sound, attitude, and lyrics. The Poznań thrashers welcomed the new decade with the most technical record ever from the eastern Europe metal scene, becoming the leaders of it during the short time it lasted in the early '90s. Sadly, good things never last.

The homonym debut was absolutely raw, destructive, and uncontrolled, a masterpiece on which the group wanted to sound as heavy, aggressive, and tough as possible. In this second long player their intentions are completely different, although violence, crazy speed, and disturbing lyrics still can be found.

Now here’s my question: what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you listen to the first couple of minutes of this CD? Technique! That’s the right answer and exactly what you will find here. These guys do not have a single break or point of relaxation during the whole album. Their incredible instrumental passages are extremely complex and skilled with displays of virtuosity and unbelievable creativity. “Desert”, “Nasty-Ment”, and “Black & Whites” are the most remarkable exhibition of that amazing new sound I was talking about before - the endless alterations of the riffs, the structures of the compositions, the killer pickin’ parts, the unpredictable variations of the rhythms...you’re gonna get exhausted listening to it, just like when you watch the Ironman World Championship on TV, even if you’re not who’s doing it!

As I mentioned before, there’s terminal velocity in the pack. “Manifestants”, “Sickened Nation”, and the classic “Foxes” with merciless double bass drum beatings, series of harsh riffs, and pure shred - pure delight for the lovers of frantic raging thrash. “Pain”, “Waiting For Sense”, and the sarcastic “Survive” alternate catchy choruses (in which vocals lead the string section) with breaks, plenty of blast beats, and huge superior sequences of riffs, so even if the music gets a bit commercial, complexity and skills are not forgotten.

I can’t find a single con, handicap, or weak spot here, can you? Well, the production is fine, powerful, and fits the nature and intention of the tunes and the attitude of the band as well. No problem that it's kinda clean and mellow at times because you can find some melody here. In fact, it will become even more present on the next record. However, I had the chance to listen the first CD pressing of this album and it sounded different, not significantly worse (with the exception of a lame snare drum sound and weaker guitars at few times), but it was alright and decent. I’m afraid the 2009 Metal Mind Productions reissue has been remixed apart from remastered, so the result is slightly different from the original.

About the personnel, what can I say? Magnificent musicians, all of them with no exceptions, all incredibly technical, creative, and inspired not only on the instrumental exhibition, but the songwriting as well has improved since the first record. I doubt anybody else did such complex song structures before in the history of Polish music (not even Chopin). The perfect harmony between Mr. Popcorn Popowicz and Mr. Mankover Mańkowski is memorable in each riff, each second, each variation, harmony, chord, lick and everything else in the guitar parts, attacking together as one but you can notice the distinctive style of both and notice as well that there’s 2 different musicians working on the same parts.

The rhythmic section of Matuszak-Gohes is efficient and experienced, their impressive jazzy technique providing the sound of higher skills and details that you couldn’t expect from a thrash group. Singer Jacky Piotrowski’s melodically brilliant voice is essential in helping Wolf Spider reach their superb new sound and is just the same effect that Dickinson had on Maiden’s sound when he joined. He’s one of those charismatic frontmen you never get tired of listening to. His talent allows him to reach high, low, and any kind of notes easily and make the result more distinctive and memorable.

The lyrics are an interesting view of the situation of their home country by that time, avoiding the predictable cliches of the sub-genre and putting emphasis on social issues, reality, corruption, injustice, misery, and some humor, too. So there’s no doubt about it, the band was on a fine moment and each characteristic of this masterpiece makes it clear.

Wilczy Pająk learned a lot from the dates they shared stage with Overkill, Running Wild, and Helloween in eastern Europe and definitely reached the same level as those with long plays like this. Now with English lyrics and an English name, the group was ready to conquer the Polish scene and become the greatest, along with their rivals and friends Kat and Turbo. Maybe Polish thrash didn’t reach the fame and popularity it deserved, not even in its home country, but I assure you it won’t disappoint the most strict ears, especially if you’re into Toxik, Heathen, Deathrow, Watchtower, Coroner, Mekong Delta, or Living Death’s technical stuff. So all thrash maniacs, don’t forget to check out this CD and its splendid 9 songs. ---Metal_Thrasher90, metal-archives.com

Do napisania kilku zdań o tej płycie - najlepszej płycie polskiego thrash metalu - skłoniło mnie kilka wydarzeń. Po pierwsze głośna w ostatnich latach sprawa rozliczania dziadków wojskowych z decyzji o wprowadzeniu stanu wojennego w Polsce, który jest także wyraźnie zarysowany na tej płycie, a także wznowienie jakiś czas temu niniejszego albumu przez naszego krajowego monopolistę, specjalistę od psucia klasyków thrash metalu tragicznymi digipackami pełnymi baboli. O kogo chodzi – wiadomo, więc spuśćmy zasłonę milczenia. Jakkolwiek dziwne byłyby powody napisania tej recenzji, płyta z pewnością zasługuje na to, by pisać o niej dużo i jak najlepiej.

<> Tak, to nie żart – „Kingdom Of Paranoia” to najlepsza rzecz, jaka się w polskim thrash metalu wydarzyła. Wolf Spider, a wcześniej Wilczy Pająk, miał wielkie ambicje, aspiracje do bycia międzynarodową gwiazdą, ale wyszło jak wyszło, choć warunki mieli ku temu doskonałe, oczywiście, jeśli chodzi o kwestie czysto muzyczne. Kwestie polityczne i wszelkie sprawy około muzyczne to już inna para kaloszy i w to lepiej nie brnąć. Chociaż jak się spojrzy na okładkę płyty, to trudno nie ustrzec się skojarzeń. Na obrazku pies z głową Lenina łasi się do nóg wielkiego wodza – Generała Jaruzelskiego. Chyba nikt nie ma żadnych wątpliwości, z czym mamy do czynienia. Podobnież teksty, zwłaszcza otwierający „Manifestants” traktujący o upadku systemu komunistycznego w naszym nędznym kraju. Odważni byli panowie, choć czasy represji i cenzury odchodziły już wtedy powoli w siną dal.

Muzycznie Poznaniacy bardzo się rozwinęli od debiutanckiego albumu zarówno technicznie, jak i kompozytorsko, a oba krążki dzieli przecież odstęp zaledwie jednego roku. Z prostego thrash metalu wyewoluowali panowie do niemal techno thrashu, choć o tym można mówić tak naprawdę przy okazji płyt kolejnych. Dużo technicznych łamańców z genialnymi partiami perkusji jednego z najbardziej utalentowanych bębniarzy. Niestety później Tommy Goesh w moim odczuciu raczej zmarnował ten talent, bo powinien być teraz w innym miejscu. Świetne partie gitar, niebanalne riffy i zaskakujące zagrywki wymykające się wszelkim standardowym podziałom. Dużo smakowitych solówek, dużo melodyjnych zagrywek, trochę przebojowego humoru i totalny luz i lekkość grania. Płyta jest pełna polotu, nieokiełznanej energii i każdy kawałek to potencjalny thrashmetalowy hit. Nie ma ani jednego słabego momentu, wszystkie utwory zachwycają, porywają i sprawiają, że nie można wyjść z podziwu, jak to możliwe, że Polacy potrafili kiedyś tak grać. Aż dziw bierze, że Wolf Spider nie był gwiazdą światowego formatu, bo poziom muzyczny to klasa światowa. Słychać, że Pająki były mocno zafascynowane Mekong Delta i innymi wielkimi technicznego thrashu. Według mnie niewiele im ustępowali i mogli śmiało stawać w szranki bez żadnych kompleksów.

Kocham tę płytę bezgranicznie, podobnie jak kolejny w dyskografii Pająków „Drifting In The Sullen Sea” i dziękuję losowi, że sprawił, iż oba albumy w jedynym słusznym wydaniu Under One Flag dumnie zdobią moją kolekcję CD. Informacja o wznowieniu „Kingdom Of Paranoia” z jednej strony mnie ucieszyła, bo warto, by tak świetną płytę poznało jak najwięcej osób, z drugiej zaś strony szkoda mi tych ludzi, którzy dostali produkt w jakości zbliżonej do chińskich zabawek. W jakiejkolwiek postaci byście ten album zdobyli, posłuchajcie go i pokochajcie. Jeśli nie padniecie na kolana, to całkowicie stracę wiarę w ludzi z dobrym gustem. ---Atrej, metalzine.pl

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01. Sex Shop - 02:45
02. It`s Only Vodka - 06:34
03. Sex Maniacs - 03:50
04. Mafia - 04:43
05. Homeless Children - 04:18
06. Terrorists - 06:03
07. Down the Drain - 05:24
08. Puppet - 03:20
09. Verge of Sanity - 07:13
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10. Girl for Sale - 05:49
11. Television - 03:49
12. Mafia (Live) - 04:42
13. Bezdomne dzieci (Live) - 04:12
14. It`s Only Vodka (Live) - 06:53

Tomasz Zwierzchowski - vocal;
Tomasz Goehs - drums;
Maciej Matuszak - bass guitar;
Dariusz Popowicz "Popcorn" - guitar;
Piotr Mańkowski – guitar.

Wolf Spider doskonale znany jest polskim zwolennikom heavy i thrash metalu, grupa powstała w 1985 roku w Poznaniu, a tworzyli ją: Leszek Szpiegiel - wokal, gitarzyści Maciej Matuszak i Piotr Mańkowski, basista Marian Przybylski oraz bębniarz Tomek Goehs. Pierwotnie formacja nazywała się Wilczy Pająk, ale później przyjęła anglojęzyczną wersję tej nazwy. W latach 80tych grupa była stałym gościem festiwalu Metalmania. Płytowy debiut formacji to album "Wilczy Pająk" z 1989 roku. Potem zespół co roku wydawał nową płytę, aż do 1991 - w tym roku wydał czwartą a zarazem ostatnią płytę zatytułowaną "Hue of Evil". Teraz, po 18 latach powraca ona w odnowionej, zremasterowanej wersji z dodatkowymi utworami. ---empik.com

This album was originally recorded in 1989 with Leszek Szpigiel and Polish vocals, but the English version with Tomasz Zwierzchowski didn’t see the light of day until 1991. They choose a completely different, peculiar vocalist to replace Szpigiel – most of Polish singers you could hear back then never sounded very professional or stunning (Marek Łoza, Mariusz Sobiela, Irena Bol, etc.) actually. So the band decided to follow still the previous musical path, taking a similar direction. Tomasz Zwierzchowski was the chosen vocalist for the new record and the lyrics as well got into different issues. As you can guess from the Jerzy Kurczak cover painting and the title of some tunes, Wolf Spider got horny, just like their pals Destroyers and Kat. I don’t really know what Polish thrashers put on their vodka, but it definitely turns them on – in fact this could have been almost a conceptual record about lust, depravity and vice!

They wrote straighter, raw thrash songs with violent riffs and scandalous verses. However, their sound is still technical, progressive and complex; the impressive instrumental passages are pure talent and virtuosism on “Verge Of Sanity”, “It’s Only Vodka” or “Homeless Children”, tracks plenty of skilled variations on the riffs and the tempo that only experienced professional musicians could attempt to play. The result is absolutely perfect and outstanding, specially guitars parts are immaculately executed and memorable, and their riffs become extremely brutal, lethal and hyperactive on “Mafia”, “Down The Drain” or “Terrorists”, which are terrifying lessons in total headbanging thrash. And when the speed increases, like on “Sex Maniacs”, “Sex Shop” or “Puppet”, then you have no other chance than breaking your neck and mosh like crazy. The terminal velocity on those songs is brilliant and totally controlled, we are not talking about a bunch of chaotic hardcore blast beats, this is pure art and the culmination of years of practice. All the elements on the tunes: the raging double-bass drum rhythms, the incredible tempo changes, the massive killer riffing and the shredding solos are executed with precision and talent. But not only speed can be found on these numbers, the handful of breaks on most of them let the band space to play long instrumental parts on which guitars synchronize as good as their admired Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, and their raw hooks, skilled pull-offs and several string techniques along with their dynamic pickin’ parts will impress and shock you immediately. There’s not a single weak spot or bad song in this pack, and it’s no surprise, after all this is Polish thrash so what did you expect?

With this album, Wolf Spider they reached an even higher level than before, not only in the way the music is performed but the tough song-writing task is so easy for them to accomplish, they even seem to enjoy making it as complex and difficult as possible. There’s a disappointment here though, the reason why I’m not giving this album the maximum rating is Zwierzchowski’s voice. The instrumental parts are supreme; I wish I could say the same about the vocals but Tomasz is most of the time out of tune, becoming weaker and weaker and more inconsistent and unlistenable on each word, unable to reach the notes. I don’t know how many auditions they did to find a proper replacement for Leszek, I just don’t want to imagine how awful must have been the other singers that didn’t get the job if Zwierzchowski was the best choice (check out the Polish versions of these tracks on the Metal Mind CD reissues bonus tracks featuring Szpigiel, with a completely distinct feel). Apart from that, the splendid guitar work of both Dariusz Popowicz and Piotr Mańkowski must be highlighted – their fast fingers are insatiable and hungry for more and more riffs on the whole record, their creativity never seems to end. Drummer Tomasz Goehs made a fantastic performance as well, with no mistakes and going wild on the fasters moments of this extraordinary exhibition of technical thrash. Maciej Matuszak seems to be another frustrated guitarists relegated to play bass, although his skills and versatility defining rhythms are effective. Another big difference from the previous record is the more notable, crude backing vocals, reminiscent of the powerful throats of Scott Ian and Frank Bello from mid-80’s Anthrax sound. And it’s clear Tomasz Dziubiński knows how to produce rightly, all instruments sound as loud as they should and strenghtful enough to make this thrash record unforgettable. What about the lyrics? Sex! Sex! Sex! Thrash and lust, always an amusing combination of pure fun and enjoyment as you can check here.

Sex, vodka and thrash metal, that’s what you will find and it won’t disappoint you. Nobody did it like Polish thrashers by that year; don’t forget it was 1991, the time when some infamous abysmal black album killed the subgenre turning it into commercial pop for radio stations. But fortunately, Polish groups kept away from the popular fashion and trends to concentrate on their genuine roots and never sell out. It’s remarkable that these Eastern Europe bands stayed loyal to their original sound, even making it more evil and aggressive while most famous thrash heroes were becoming more sophisticated, melodic and sweet. Sadly, the Polish solid scene would get affected by the lack of commercial success and the grunge fever of the decade – only the strong survived (Vader, Acid Drinkers and Kat, basically). Unfair, so unfair. ---Metal_Thrasher90, metal-archives.com

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