W.E.T. – EARTHRAGE – FRONTIERS MUSIC

By Kev Rowland

Just put this on and listen to the melodic rock majesty that only happens when musicians who really know their stuff join forces and do something because they love it so much. This is the third album from W.E.T.,  who comprise Robert Säll (the “W” from Work of Art), Erik Mårtensson (the “E” from Eclipse) and Jeff Scott Soto (the “T” from Talisman) along with Eclipse guitarist Magnus Henriksson and drummer Robban Bäck. All the guys involved have been having some success recently,  with Mårtensson (coming off a highly successful new Eclipse album and preparing for the release of the self-titled Ammunition album), Soto (coming off his own successful solo album, plus the debut of supergroup Sons Of Apollo), and Säll (having just completed the production of a forthcoming record with Steve Overland of FM and about to start working on the anticipated fourth Work of Art record).

They have all been around the traps for a long time, and I have been a fan of JSS for many years both solo and with the mighty Talisman (a live video of “I’ll Be Waiting” is downloaded to my phone), so to get a band like this having fun is always going to deliver class results. This is melodic hard rock which hasn’t been sanitized out of existence and instead relies on the band producing melodic hard rock with crunching riffs and harmony vocals and a singer who is strong enough to shine over the top of it all. This is very much a song-based album, with everyone putting their heart and soul into every number. The end result is an album that any fan of the genre needs to get out and purchase immediately, if not sooner. Want great riffs, hooks, solos, punching hard rock and great vocals? What are you waiting for?

8/10