Joyous Wolf

In the middle of the 2010s, Southern California outfit Joyous Wolf arrived on the scene with an intense rock approach that fused blues-rock, post-grunge, and heavy metal. The four musicians—vocalist Nick Reese, guitarist Blake Allard, bassist Greg Braccio, and drummer Robert Sodaro—formed the band in 2014, refining their contemporary style through regional performances until Roadrunner Records signed them in 2018. That same year brought a fiery take on Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” and the original song “Place in Time,” both produced by Grammy Award-winning Howard Benson; the latter track joined the singles “Odyssey” and “Quiet Heart” on the group’s debut EP, Place in Time, issued in 2019.