Rising from out of the deceptively serene cornfields surrounding Dekalb, Werewolf is a band that not only rocks with the righteous fury of the best of the current heavy-metal underground, but it does so while refusing to honor the narrow sub-sub-sub-genre constrictions that the metal world is so fond of imposing. There are elements of old-school thrash (heavy on the Pantera), revitalized stoner rock (the group has shared a stage with High On Fire), death-metal atmospherics and Black Sabbath classicism (it does spooky well) and well vein-popping screamcore on the group's first full album, the recently released "Find Your Enemies," in addition to a few other strains I'm probably missing.

Rather than lending the impression of a band without focus, this wide-ranging approach comes together in the quick-moving, heavy-hitting hands of vocalist Grant Swanberg, guitarist Aaron Wassner, drummer Brad Sabathne and bassist Reggie Griffin to create a sound guaranteed to set your head a banging 10 different ways. The new disc can be sampled on the group's Web page, http://www.myspace.com/whoiswerewolf, and it will be performing at the Rave in Milwaukee on Friday [Sept. 26] and Otto's in Dekalb on Oct. 25. I for one am eager to see these hairy beasts live--the better to howl at the moon.