Wig Wamania – Wall Of Silence [uk]
99 % - I have to admit that I hadn't really taken much notice of Wig Wam before listening to this album. I'd heard of them but never actually heard any of their songs. From what I'd read, they were classed as a clone of The Darkness. I didn't really like the first Darkness album but thought the second was brilliant so thought I should check out Wig Wam. I'm certainly glad I did!
Opener Wig Wamania is just a spoken introduction to the first real song, Rock My Ride. Starting off with an Indian inspired drum fill that sounds rather like the menu music on Crazy Taxi on the Dreamcast! A warm and deep bass sound joins in to add some weight before the guitars come crashing in. I was actually taken aback with the power of the guitars. A wall of thick heavy guitars play a superb catchy guitar riff. This riff leads the verse with Aage Steen's clean vocals on top. The chorus jumps in with an excellent 70's inspired vocal melody, bringing to mind The Sweet with a touch of Def Leppard in the mix as well. A superb upbeat start to the album.
Next song Slave To Your Love actually slows things down. A celtic, Thin Lizzy/Gary Moore guitar riff starts the song before the verse drops back to acoustic guitar and vocals. However, again, the song bursts into life come chorus time with another harmony packed vocal hook.
Gonna Get You Someday is one of those special songs that reminds you why you got into this type of music in the first place. The acappella intro knocks you for six with one of the catchiest melodies I've heard in years. The foot tapping verse even has the unforgettable lyric, "My room mate was a business man, killed his friend with a frying pan"! Classic! I normally hate cheesy lyrics but this is all done completely tongue in cheek. I just can't say enough good things about this song. I absolutely LOVE the chorus!
Bygone Zone is a real Hysteria era Def Leppard sounding mid paced song. Quite laid back but brimming with harmonies. Again, a superb hook in the chorus has this song jumping from the speakers. An excellently played song showing that the band can reign in the theatrics when the song requires it.
Dare Devil Heat is another song that blew me away. Starting with a spoken phone call intro, much like the opening intro on Wig Wamania, the song bursts in with an almighty scream from Aage Steen. A huge guitar riff plays underneath that will have millions of heads banging all over the world. The verse settles into an off time guitar riff over solid drumming. This is a heavy fist pumping rocker. I've already said about the excellent choruses so far but the Def Leppard inspired chorus hook is another that is one of the best I've heard in years. I've been playing this song to death over the last couple of weeks! Amazing!
Kill My Rock 'N' Roll is a real Darkness sounding song on the intro. Another great melody in the verse as the bass and drums lay the foundation for the guitars to add the riff. The chorus has another 70's inspired melody that just screams quality. These guys certainly know how to craft a song and write catchy choruses. Another fantastic song.
The Riddle again brings back the celtic Thin Lizzy influences for this three minute instrumental. There is some excellent guitar playing from Trond Holter on this song. Instrumentals are something you don't really hear on albums these days so this is a nice break from tradition.
At The End Of The Day is another ballad led by piano and vocals in the verse. The chorus again delivers another superb hook while retaining the feel of the song. Huge backing vocals towards the end send this song to another level. This song will have audiences everywhere reaching for their lighters
A Rock 'N' Roll Girl Like You is a bit naughty as it completely rips off the guitar riff from My Sharona. Shame really as they have proven that they are capable of writing quality riffs of their own. The chorus has another massive hook that gives the song it's own identity and this is where the song comes to life.
Can't Get Her (Out Of My Bed) is a tongue in cheek rocker, full of a sleazy late 80's Los Angeles vibe. Yet another huge overblown chorus hook has you singing along straight away. Brilliant! Breaking All The Rules ends the album with a music box intro before Oystein Andersen lays down a solid beat to be joined by guitars and bass. The verse has a dark heavy chugging riff quite different to anything else on the album. An almost Judas Priest vibe in places, especially on the chorus hook. Different but still a fantastic song. Wow!
That was an experience listening to this album. I can honestly say, I haven't had an album blow me away this much in years. Much like the Blanc Faces album last year, this has come out of nowhere to kick everybody up the arse and shake up this genre. This is unashamedly melodic rock with enough bite to please fans of the heavier end of the melodic rock music scale.
You really do need to check this album out whether you've heard of Wig Wam or not. Don't let the comparison to The Darkness put you off. I think that comparison actually does a dis-service to Wig Wam, I think they are better than The Darkness and this album is such a huge step above anything the Darkness have produced. It's so rare for a band to have this many massively catchy choruses in their career, let alone on one album.
Unless something major happens this year, this is definitely going to be my album of 2006. I unreservedly recommend this album to everybody. Utterly essential!!
Paul Ryan - Wall Of Silence
Opener Wig Wamania is just a spoken introduction to the first real song, Rock My Ride. Starting off with an Indian inspired drum fill that sounds rather like the menu music on Crazy Taxi on the Dreamcast! A warm and deep bass sound joins in to add some weight before the guitars come crashing in. I was actually taken aback with the power of the guitars. A wall of thick heavy guitars play a superb catchy guitar riff. This riff leads the verse with Aage Steen's clean vocals on top. The chorus jumps in with an excellent 70's inspired vocal melody, bringing to mind The Sweet with a touch of Def Leppard in the mix as well. A superb upbeat start to the album.
Next song Slave To Your Love actually slows things down. A celtic, Thin Lizzy/Gary Moore guitar riff starts the song before the verse drops back to acoustic guitar and vocals. However, again, the song bursts into life come chorus time with another harmony packed vocal hook.
Gonna Get You Someday is one of those special songs that reminds you why you got into this type of music in the first place. The acappella intro knocks you for six with one of the catchiest melodies I've heard in years. The foot tapping verse even has the unforgettable lyric, "My room mate was a business man, killed his friend with a frying pan"! Classic! I normally hate cheesy lyrics but this is all done completely tongue in cheek. I just can't say enough good things about this song. I absolutely LOVE the chorus!
Bygone Zone is a real Hysteria era Def Leppard sounding mid paced song. Quite laid back but brimming with harmonies. Again, a superb hook in the chorus has this song jumping from the speakers. An excellently played song showing that the band can reign in the theatrics when the song requires it.
Dare Devil Heat is another song that blew me away. Starting with a spoken phone call intro, much like the opening intro on Wig Wamania, the song bursts in with an almighty scream from Aage Steen. A huge guitar riff plays underneath that will have millions of heads banging all over the world. The verse settles into an off time guitar riff over solid drumming. This is a heavy fist pumping rocker. I've already said about the excellent choruses so far but the Def Leppard inspired chorus hook is another that is one of the best I've heard in years. I've been playing this song to death over the last couple of weeks! Amazing!
Kill My Rock 'N' Roll is a real Darkness sounding song on the intro. Another great melody in the verse as the bass and drums lay the foundation for the guitars to add the riff. The chorus has another 70's inspired melody that just screams quality. These guys certainly know how to craft a song and write catchy choruses. Another fantastic song.
The Riddle again brings back the celtic Thin Lizzy influences for this three minute instrumental. There is some excellent guitar playing from Trond Holter on this song. Instrumentals are something you don't really hear on albums these days so this is a nice break from tradition.
At The End Of The Day is another ballad led by piano and vocals in the verse. The chorus again delivers another superb hook while retaining the feel of the song. Huge backing vocals towards the end send this song to another level. This song will have audiences everywhere reaching for their lighters
A Rock 'N' Roll Girl Like You is a bit naughty as it completely rips off the guitar riff from My Sharona. Shame really as they have proven that they are capable of writing quality riffs of their own. The chorus has another massive hook that gives the song it's own identity and this is where the song comes to life.
Can't Get Her (Out Of My Bed) is a tongue in cheek rocker, full of a sleazy late 80's Los Angeles vibe. Yet another huge overblown chorus hook has you singing along straight away. Brilliant! Breaking All The Rules ends the album with a music box intro before Oystein Andersen lays down a solid beat to be joined by guitars and bass. The verse has a dark heavy chugging riff quite different to anything else on the album. An almost Judas Priest vibe in places, especially on the chorus hook. Different but still a fantastic song. Wow!
That was an experience listening to this album. I can honestly say, I haven't had an album blow me away this much in years. Much like the Blanc Faces album last year, this has come out of nowhere to kick everybody up the arse and shake up this genre. This is unashamedly melodic rock with enough bite to please fans of the heavier end of the melodic rock music scale.
You really do need to check this album out whether you've heard of Wig Wam or not. Don't let the comparison to The Darkness put you off. I think that comparison actually does a dis-service to Wig Wam, I think they are better than The Darkness and this album is such a huge step above anything the Darkness have produced. It's so rare for a band to have this many massively catchy choruses in their career, let alone on one album.
Unless something major happens this year, this is definitely going to be my album of 2006. I unreservedly recommend this album to everybody. Utterly essential!!
Paul Ryan - Wall Of Silence
