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Wildness: Wildness
Wildness 2017 Self-titled Debut CD Album Review

Wildness: Wildness

Melodic Hard Rock/Metal
4.5/5.0

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AOR Heaven
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 22.11.2017

Formed by drummer and principle songwriter Erik Modin in 2013, Wildness is a new Swedish hard rock band releasing their first studio album. The eponomyous recording was preceded by two singles, Collide and Turning The Pages, which garnered good reviews from listeners and reviewers alike. More importantly, the singles caught the attention of AOR Heaven exec Georg Siegl who signed the band and sent them to the studio. The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Erik Wigelius (Wigelius, Care Of Night).

Wildness Band Photo

Wildness

Essentially, Wildness plays Eighties inspired melodic hard rock with a heavy metal edge and then neatly packaged in an AOR wrapper. Unwrapping (no pun intended) their sound a bit more, much of the metal edge comes from the brisk and assertive twin guitar riffage, yet without losing the essential and necessary twin guitar harmony. Following the riffs, the guitar solos are abundant and immense throughout this album. The hard rock groove comes from a steady and heavy rhythm section that has all the subtleness of a sonic boom. All this hard and heavy bravado is tempered by catchy melodies and choruses, clean vocals and fine vocal harmonies, and a sweet dash synths for embellishment and atmosphere in the song arrangements.

For a small taste of the songs, you can expect metal-infused rockers with War Inside My Head, Collide, Stranger, Falling Down, and Highlands. Those latter two songs have swift pacing which may remind some of power metal. For songs with a larger synth presence look to Alibi, Down In The City, or Turning The Pages where both orchestration and piano are essential elements. With Welcome The Night, you get a light acoustic guitar. But don't be fooled, the song rips into a rocker with some stinging solos to start. Finally, the ballad The Flame (not the Cheap Trick song) features a strong piano line before giving way to a crescendo of rising riffs and a large soaring guitar solo. Suffice to say, for a first effort, Wildness's debut album is a strong one, a solid album of AOR tuned melodic hard rock with a metal edge. Recommended.



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The Bottom Line

For a first effort, Wildness's debut album is a strong one, a solid album of AOR tuned melodic hard rock with a metal edge. Recommended.

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