ALBUM REVIEW: WIG WAM – Out Of The Dark

When I talked to Åge and Bernt earlier this month I told them my story about discovering Wim Wam way back in 2004 when the first album came out. They, along with The Poodles and Crashdiet stand as the real fathers of the revival of Scandinavian 80’s flavored Hard Rock with Wig Wam’s debut ‘667.. The Neighbour of the Beast / Hard to Be a Rock ‘n Roller’ coming in 2004 before Crashdiet’s 2005 release ‘Rest in Sleaze’ and The Poodles ‘Metal Will Stand Tall’ classic from 2006. Of course Hardcore Superstar beat them all to the punch, but if you agree with Jocke they only found their sound with 2005’s self-titled release. That means Wig Wam kind of started it all in what remains a huge centre for the kind of music I love with so many bands these days making wonderful music in the cold North of Europe.

Wig Wam of course split back in 2014 before Covid brought them back together for the wonderful comeback album ‘Never Say Die’ in 2021, but it was a track from my favourite record of theirs ‘Non Stop Rock and Roll’ from 2010 that really sparked their revival when James Gun chose opener ‘Do You Wanna Taste It?’ t open his ‘Peacemaker’ series.

So here we are in 2023 with album number six, and it’s a huge party rocker of a record that harnesses all that you already love about the band and also adds a couple of curve balls.

Of course we have to open with a huge opener with a soaring chorus, and the title track ‘Out Of The Dark’ gives you just that. It’s a mile high song that builds the momentum for a wild ride to come. ‘High N Dry’ that follows has a Billy Squier strut and swagger about it and is completely danceable to boot.

Just to change things up comes ‘Forevermore’ – that ‘Epic Folk Rock’ sound that bands like Eclipse are going for at the moment, tinged with that certain Celtic flavour it’s sturdy stuff and consummately delivered with a chorus that will have you roaring along!

‘Bad Luck Chuck’ couldn’t be more different – a great 80’s style rocker with a touch of AC/DC in the riff and a Def Leppard refrain. The intriguingly titled ‘Uppercut Shazam’ adds a little harder edge – there’s a more metal aspect to this one, and it rocks nice and hard like Ammunition’ the band Åge has with Erik from Eclipse!  On first listen this was the standout for me and it’s definitely one of the real highlights.

‘Ghosting You’ – has the vibe of those big party rockers of yesteryear and plenty of bounce, and set up against the huge showcase ballad ‘The Purpose’ the juxtaposition is perfect. As ballads go this is big, wonderful guitar, heartfelt vocal and all 80’s ballad boxes ticked.

Another of my favourites ‘The American Dream’ is a wonderful thrusting rocker with and echo of Babylon A.D.’s ‘Psychedelic Sex Reaction’ from their second record in the chorus. It has a huge hook and is pretty damn fine. But there are more textures to come and more surprises too. ’79’ sees a bluesy guitar open and solo for the duration. It’s simply lovely and a wonderfully and completely out of place instrumental. It’s another reason to love this album which just drops the odd surprise here and there.

We close out with two real gems: first the melodic metal of ‘God By Your Side’ which manages to get me thinking of both Lillian Axe and a lightly brooding Metallica at the same time. It’s an interesting song with a great chorus and plenty of meat on the bone. And we close things very grandly indeed with ‘Sailor And The Desert Sun’ an epic rocking sea shanty of a song that is the perfect soundtrack to sail away into the sunset.

Covid may have given us Wig Wam back and Peacemaker may have kicked them into life but with music like this there’s clearly a lot of great things to come.

9/10