Review by Gary Spiller for MPM
Proud Lancastrians Massive Wagons are back with a brand-new album and boy are do they return with one heck of a bang! Taking the industrious ethos of two legends of Northwest England ‘The Wagons’ draw ranks to unleash their seventh studio long-player.
Scaling heights fellow Lancashire native Fred Dibnah would have been proud of and detonating with explosive forces Cheshire raconteur Blaster Bates could have only dreamt of Lancaster’s finest have produced a behemothic slab of British hard rocking.
This moment has been some 15 years in the making following the pivotal lightbulb moment that lynchpin guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite and enigmatic vocalist Barry ‘Baz’ Mills shared watching Airbourne in Manchester. Derailing their indie cover band, they elected to write original material instead.
With six albums firmly ensconced in their arsenal the band, going into the process of writing/recording, have sensed a moment in time where a fresh impetus was required. Hence the appearance of producer Matt O’Grady (You Me At Six, Architects, Don Broco) at the helm of ‘Earth To Grace’.
Frontman Mills, ahead of the album’s release, commented “We took a brave step to collaborate with a new producer. Matt O’Grady has worked with some of the most successful bands of the last 20 years, so we were absolutely confident in his ability to deliver our music with a more modern feel without losing what we sound like at our heart. And that’s exactly what he did.”
Whilst retaining their trademark no-frills, eschewing gimmickry approach to their heavy brand of rock, one which blends a punk-fuelled dynamic with meaty anthems, they have on this showing, furthered the depth of feeling on display. Aging something akin to the finest of whiskies or wines the Wagons have served up a modern-day rocking palette that is surefire to repeat, if not better, the top ten chart successes of the two previous albums ‘Triggered’ and ‘House of Noise’ (entering and peaking at 9 and 6 in the official UK Album Charts respectively).
In a smart move the varied quartet of singles, which have preceded, this release form the bulk of the opening half (or side one for the vinyl junkies amongst us). The album kicks off with the most recent release ‘Sleep Forever’ and its sharp ass-kicking riffs from Adam Thistlethwaite and his six-string sidekick Steve Holl. Swiftly joined, in a massive avalanche, by the low-end mastery of stalwart pairing bassist Adam Bouskill and drummer Alex Thistlethwaite the black top is laid down in readiness for Mills to motor in.
It’s rapid and galloping yet somehow The Wagons remain in complete control as Mills snarls “In the dead of night I’m dreaming.” Think primetime dynamics of Quo and Ramones alloyed in a buzzsawing affray with a high-energy kinetic that swiftly reaches a frenetic boiling point that is skilfully maintained with a loudly beating 21st century NWOBHM gainfully employed.
The anthemic vibe of ‘Missing On TV’ brings in a beefed-up side-order of 2020’s ‘Freak City’ as it delivers a rocking swipe at the elite endlessly exploiting the common folk yet not losing a single stadium-filling beat in its mission to further expand the band’s fanbase.
Exploring the homeland ‘redneck’ backwaters, with tongue firmly inserted in cheek, the southern country-tinged airs of ‘Free and Easy’ are sure to impress. “I’m not wishing I was back in the US of A, I come from Morecambe where the skies are grey!” as Mills exposes his inner Ronnie Barker with the lyrical adeptness that the Wagons are known for shining brightly throughout.
The gentle summer breezes of the album’s signature track ‘Night Skies’ meld touches of Marillion’s ‘Sugar Mice’ with American radio friendly daubs of the 80s with consummate expression. Mistakenly consider Massive Wagons a one trick pony? Well, have a good listen to this semi-balladic beauty and I guarantee you’ll require a considered reconsideration.
Featuring Hundred Reasons vocalist Colin Doran ‘The Good Die Young’ soars boisterously raising a conflagrant middle digit to the aging process in true punk ethos. “Grow old, do not get old” advises Mills. Taking The Who, in a firm grasp, along upon a Stateside road trip ‘All We Got’ is chockful of cartwheeling riffs and a roof wound down atmosphere. Feel the wind in your hair as The Wagons breeze along the freeway carefree.
Snarling and growling ‘Cool Like A Fox’ takes the edgy parts of Bon Jovi’s ‘Bad Medicine’ and plants them right in the middle of a broiling Lancashire hotpot that emits volcanic temperatures. The rocking jaunt ‘Fun While It Lasted’ certainly upholds the promise of its title whilst ‘Whatever Makes You Happy’ veers off in a darker direction. Bouskill’s bass reverberates menacingly matching the track’s sinister fringes; it’s a departure from recent Massive Wagons offerings and one most welcome to usher in. The sound expansion continues.
‘Underdog’ does indeed pull at the heartstrings as the contagion levels are ramped up before we disappear down the ‘Rabbit Hole’ fervently bouncing into the underground realms as Massive Wagons hammer along for one last time in what is the hardest punching delivery of the album’s eleven tracks.
Here on their seventh album, it’s clearly evident that Massive Wagons are not content to sit upon their laurels and milk that which has gone before and proven successful. This is a quintet that strives to power forwards only occasionally glancing in the rear-view mirror, a trait to be thoroughly applauded.
Due for release on Friday 8th November you can still pre-order ‘Earth To Grace’ here.
Information and tickets for their UK tour, with special guests Florence Black, can be found here.
FIND MASSIVE WAGONS ONLINE:
YouTube: @MassiveWagons
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7xytG…
Facebook: / massivewagons
Twitter: / massivewagons
Instagram: / massivewagons
Patreon: / wagonsworld