WIG WAM
“Out Of The Dark”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Wig Wam are a hard rock band from Norway formed in 2001 releasing seven albums over a twenty year career, which included a break-up in 2014 – only to reform five years later in 2019. The bands brand of eighties inspired glam rock is hard rocking and party anthem fuelled, and to date Wig Wam have released ‘667…The Neighbour Of The Beast’ (2004), ‘Hard To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roller’ (2005), ‘Wig Wamania’ (2006), ‘Non Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll’ (2010), ‘Wall Street’ (2012), ‘Never Say Die’ (2021), and ‘Out Of The Dark’, released in 2023…

…featuring eleven good ol’ fashioned rockers guaranteed to get any party started! The band – vocalist Glam (Age Sten Nilsen), guitarist Teeny (Trond Holter), bassist Flash (Bernt Jansen), and drummer Sporty (Oystein Andersen) – are in boisterous mood, setting off fireworks as the title song ‘Out Of The Dark’ begins the album in a very energetic groove metal/rock manner! The guitar sound is phenomenally attractive, and that groove – have I already mentioned it – is gorgeous! The band are described as hard rock, yet ‘Out Of The Dark’ (the song) could easily hold its own in the heavy metal genre. All the songs on offer chime in at under five minutes in length – seven, under four minutes! So there’s a lot of music in a short space of time, leaving absolutely no time for babble! But regular readers know I will frequently babble – the album marching on with ‘High N Dry’, a much punchier effort than the opening song, retaining the groove and adding some weighty crunch, encouraging listeners to nod hard and tap their feet harder.

Bringing to the fore a touch of Southern rock, Wig Wam present one of the most melodically attractive songs on the album – ‘Forevermore’ a glorious anthemic stroll with a rabble rousing call to arms aura that conjures up images of thousands of fans all gathering round the band and chanting “forevermore”. Just imagine what it’ll be like with an in-concert crowd – come on Wig Wam, play this one live! Please! The bands fun party side rises high for ‘Bad Luck Chuck’, a cheeky and fairly raucous romp of punchy blues rock – a little blues and a lot of punch! And the chorus too – another sparkling chant style affair that every listener, fan, follower, and concert goer are gonna absolutely love! Sing it loud “bad luck chuck”. Fucking great stuff from the Norwegian rockers – Norway a country more famed for its black metal style of music than hard rock! But then Wig Wam are bucking that trend, rocking and rolling forward with the pulsating ‘Uppercut Shazam’ – delivering a stiff uppercut as it punches harder than any other song heard so far.

The energy level has been incredible since the album began, showing no signs of dipping as the album stomps on with the ground shuddering ‘Ghosting You’ – and an eighties ‘Still Of The Night’ era Whitesnake! Wig Wam now adding sleaze rock to their arsenal, are showing top level proficiency and prowess at delivering many different styles of rock, the band not afraid to broaden, widen, and stretch their musical horizons. And for the first time since the album began, the energetic oomph is replaced by the mellow strains of a power ballad – ‘The Purpose’ a sparkling Bon Jovi-esque stroll of emotionally charged pizzazz! Time to raise your lighters aloft ladies and gentlemen, and salute one of the best electrically charged ballads I’ve heard in a while. And the party atmosphere is well and truly alive, with ‘The American Dream’ raising a beer high and inviting everyone to “come on down and dance”. The energy level has risen to twice what it has been, the band rocking harder than ever – even harder than the original party rockers Van Halen and Mötley Crüe.

Balladry returns in the shape of ’79’, but also with a touch of blues and an aura of mystery and intrigue – ’79’ sounding like the score for a tension filled, anticipation fuelled, crime thriller of a movie. And without any vocals, believe me the tension is fucking sky high! And the totally attractive guitar groove from the albums opening salvo, returns with even more attractiveness – ‘God By Your Side’ a ravenous thunderstorm of raucous riffs and feverish arrogance. The swagger of ‘God By Your Side’ is head and shoulders above anything else on offer – and the song knows it! ‘God By Your Side’ actually revelling in it! Bringing the album to a close, Wig Wam dive into the heavy hitting anthemic style of foot stomping rock for ‘Sailor And The Desert Sun’ – a song that’ll nod your head hard. Really hard. So I hope your neck muscles are really flexible!

Overall, a punchy and energetic ride of heavy hitting hard rock, ‘Out Of The Dark’ is a very infectious album.

TRACKLIST

Out Of The Dark
High N Dry
Forevermore
Bad Luck Chuck
Uppercut Shazam
Ghosting You
The Purpose
The American Dream
79
God By Your Side
Sailor And The Desert Sun

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