Jet Generation June 22, 1999

"You may need a shower after listening."
--Entertainment Weekly

When we sent the new GUITAR WOLF record to the mastering lab for inclusion in our recent in-store play sampler, the mastering engineer called back, mystified by the volume level on the CD-R. The levels exceeded the theoretical maximum possible on compact disk audio. In other words, JET GENERATION is the loudest CD in history.

This story proves that if you rock hard enough, you can break the laws of physics. And Tokyo's premier punk trio definitely rock hard. In their most brain-pummelling album yet, GUITAR WOLF attempt to reproduce the legacy of Johnny Thunders, Joan Jett and the Ramones and make them much much louder and more distorted. There is no doubt that they succeed.

That a band can continue to amaze with their SIXTH album is impressive enough, but for a band working within such narrow confines as GUITAR WOLF, it's simply shocking. GUITAR WOLF might be the bravest and sexiest rock band in the world.

JET GENERATION debuts "Jet Rock," a whole new genre of unbearably intense Japanese thrash. GUITAR WOLF will be bringing their dangerous live show to these shores once again this summer.

"Seiji, singer and guitarist for the Japanese rock band Guitar Wolf, jumped off the top of his Marshall amp at the Odeon club and cried, 'Rock and roll, New York City!' He did this, like, 10 times. Guitar Wolf did not stop playing between songs, and Seiji sang with commitment: 'Energy Joe! Energy Joe! Baby, baby! Energy Joe!' After the show, Seiji knocked back round after round of sake with friends in a nearby Japanese restaurant until 4 in the morning. 'Nonstop to drink,' he said. "I am alcohol junkie.' He took a one-minute taxi ride back to his hotel room." --Brian Kennedy, New York Observer

Planet of the Wolves October 21, 1997

Seiji, Toru, and Billy are back! Planet Of The Wolves is Guitar Wolf's 5th album (their 2nd for Matador), and is not only their most crazed to date, but also their most musical--Guitar Wolf are still the best live band on the planet, but they make a mean record to boot. Featuring covers by such like-minded brethren as the Oblivians, the Stones, and their mentor Link Wray, along with a slew of new originals, Planet Of The Wolves is the dirtiest punk-rock album you'll hear all year, and as such, the best.

Guitar Wolf are virile and dangerous and completely demented, which pretty much makes for one great rock and roll band. Around the Matador office, much is made of their decidedly non-indie-rock, brazen display of sex appeal. Andrea says, "they're really fucking hot." Lori claims, "they're hotter than Fuck." Esther sometimes cries out, "fuck, they're hot." Find out for yourself during their 6-week North American tour this fall...just don't sit in the front row and look out for severed body parts.

Missile Me! November 19, 1996

Some old timer fanzine fossil named Saul Bellow once belittled the non-Western world's contributions to punk rock, asking mockingly, "where are the Pacific Rim's Ramones or Sex Pistols?" but he must never have heard Guitar Wolf. Kamakaziing in from Tokyo, Japan, Guitar Wolf have secured a small, rabid following in the States with their faster and gunkier Ramones-style punk rock. They've already toured five times in the U.S. and released two LPs, Wolf Rock (Goner) and Kung Fu Ramone (Bag of Hammers), in addition to two Japanese-only albums.

Matador brass proferred contracts after witnessing a frenzied NYC in-store that had downtown hipsters cowering and hoisting the white flag of surrender. After the band inhaled a few bottles of hooch, guitarist Seiji proceeded to stomp across counters and record bins (trailed by an alarmed shopkeep) before launching himself headfirst into the ceiling fan, the kind of shit you only see in cartoons. The mid-air collision laid him out on the concrete like a pancake but Seiji popped right back up and still managed to miss several notes.

Guitar Wolf is:

Seiji - guitar
Billy - bass
Toru - drums