WICKED STONE
“Synergy”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Wicked Stone are a hard rock/metal band from the UK formed in 2015, releasing their debut album, ‘Ain’t No Rest’ two years later in 2017 and their sophomore album ‘Synergy’ in 2022.

Winning masses of fans by way of their energetic and electrically charged live performances, Wicked Stone are quickly becoming one of the UK’s hottest hard rock bands. Appearances at various festivals – such as Hard Rock Hell, Ramblin’ Man Fair, and Winters End – and a support slot for Steve (“Iron Maiden”) Harris’ band British Lion, Wicked Stone continue to amaze audiences with hard hitting and anthemic stadium rock come metal. The bands new album features nine songs over a heavy rocking forty minute run time – all exploding into life with the bombastic lead single ‘Say Goodbye To Yesterday’. Pounding like a jack hammer smashing concrete, ‘Say Goodbye To Yesterday’ is clearly of a British hard rock flavour – not surprising really, Wicked Stone are from the UK. But what I mean is – the bands sound is bullish, brash, and very hard hitting, unlike the American style, which mostly resides in the glam or sleaze style of rock. It’s only my opinion, and not a basis for discussion! Wicked Stone have always strayed close to the metal genre, occasionally dipping their toes in to beef up their sound – and that’s the effect you feel with the second song, the much faster paced and highly thunderous ‘Not Alone 24’. The massively melodic chorus break is sing a long-able to the max, Wicked Stone firing on all cylinders to give you maximum aural pleasure from the albums opening two songs.

With its much more dramatic and emphatic intro, ‘Reclaim The Crown’ drops the pace of the opening double, replacing it with an almighty foot stomp – but losing non of the melodious intent the band have woven into the album. And changing gears, the band up the pace, tempo, and energy, as ‘Reclaim The Crown’ storms to a finish. Feet will be tapping hard and heads will be nodding harder, as Wicked Stone push forward with the most mellow offering heard so far – ‘Now You’re Gone’ bordering on power ballad territory as it strides on. Continually building the power and oomph, the band reach a crescendo over the chorus break that lifts ‘Now You’re Gone’ up into anthemic stadium rock territory – the heaviness phenomenal, as the song continues to shudder the ground it walks on! And talking of shudder, ‘The Fires Burn’ is gonna positively crack the ground and cause some serious damage! Even small buildings are gonna suffer the awesome force of the band, crumbling away like a demolished sandcastle! Wicked Stone are well known for their immediate and bludgeoning barrage of metal tinged hard rock, and with their new album hitting harder than their debut, your next trip out just might be to the local A&E with serious cuts and bruises.

Wicked Stone have an intensity that is unrelenting, picking up the pace at the start of ‘Hunted’, dropping a gear as the vocals kick in – vocals that are of a powerhouse nature, with a faint whiff of the blues and Southern rock. The band attacking the airways with a blend of hard rock that transcends many genres, bringing their sound to a worldwide audience. ‘Going Wild’ brings a touch of the (aforementioned) blues to the album, rock ‘n’ rolling hard as it majestically struts its stuff. Wicked Stone are so flexible, expertly manoeuvring their way through different styles of rock to attract a wide array of fans – this is a band with direction and determination. They know where they’re going – and they definitely know how to get there! With blood pumping and adrenaline flowing, Wicked Stone storm on with the up tempo and punchy ‘Adrenaline’ – a barn storming hard rock romp that will have everyone jumping and throwing their arms wildly in the air. And a few metallers from the heavy metal brigade just might join in too, moving their heads back and forth to ‘Adrenaline’s insanely infectious and classic “foot on the monitor” feel. And it’s a crying shame that ‘It’s Not Enough’ is the last song on offer! This album has been an absolute corker, and a fucking pleasure – with ‘It’s Not Enough’ the best song on offer. The intensity, the pace, the power – all top notch. I hope the band play this one live, it’ll go down a storm I’m sure. What a simply breath taking end to the album…now where’s the replay button!

Overall, a thunderous yet highly melodic romp, ‘Synergy’ is a bombastic barrage of infectious hard rock.

TRACKLIST

Say Goodbye To Yesterday
Not Alone 24
Reclaim The Crown
Now You’re Gone
The Fires Burn
Hunted
Going Wild
Adrenaline
It’s Not Enough

http://wickedstone.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/wickedstonemusic/

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