Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: W.E.T.
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2013
Length: 44:02
Rating: 4.5/5
The W.E.T. project was born in 2009 and put out its self-titled debut, »W.E.T.«, the same year. It’s a band with the patrons of Frontiers Records standing behind it. In other words, it came out of lobbying by A&R guys and the label’s top brass, who brought under one roof two excellent Swedish multi-instrumentalists, songwriters, arrangers and producers, Robert Såll (the W for Work Of Art) and Erik Mårtensson (the E for Eclipse), and then called in an American vocal veteran of the melodic rock scene as the third man, singer Jeff Scott Soto (the T for Talisman).
So, another Swedish melodic rock story. Eclipse and Work Of Art both put out great albums. If the latest Eclipse album was one of the best melodic rock releases of the previous year, the same goes for the latest studio album by Work Of Art, which came out the year before. That shows just how strong and endlessly inspired songwriters Såll and Mårtensson are. The W.E.T. story lands somewhere in between, between the production approaches of Work Of Art and Eclipse. In sound, W.E.T. are a lot more cranked up than Work Of Art, but the guitars never come close to the almost power metal production that Eclipse love to lean on. Good old Jeff Scott Soto, who also released an excellent new solo studio album last year, serves up the feel of the old-school AOR scene (Journey) as if made to order, both with his vocal character and with the main melodies he picks for his verses. The more cautious debut was even more saturated with that feeling than the new W.E.T. album.
What Såll and Mårtensson take on is utterly convincing, and the project’s debut won exceptional sympathy among fans of melodic rock sounds, so demands for a new album from their ranks came rolling in on a conveyor belt. Naturally, »Rise Up« follows the foundations of the debut. Once again it offers an incredibly varied set of songs, but the ones that really ignite are those driven at a mid-tempo pace, where the mood crescendo of ravenously chiseled chorus hooks sparkles especially effectively (Shot, Learn to Live Again, On The Run or the title track, with one of the best choruses on the album, period). The masterful arranging chops of the Mårtensson/Såll tandem are confirmed by the two outstanding power ballads, Still Believe In Us and Love Heals. In a tiny dose, a flirtation with »glam revival« elements of bands like Wig Wam or H.E.A.T. also sneaks into the mix – in the rhythmically »bouncy« Bad Boy and the closing Still Unbroken. From that follows the obvious conclusion: this is an album loaded to the brim with the famous pomp that only AOR music can create. Let me point out that W.E.T. have devoted even more attention to polishing the vocal harmonies than on the predecessor, and with them they’ve once again brilliantly pulled off the ignition of pompous, airy peaks in the choruses. What’s more, they’ve combined Soto and Mårtensson into selective vocal duets, which is a logical and extremely useful move given that Mårtensson is the lead vocal figure of Eclipse and (as proven) a great singer too.
If we cling to comparisons of sonic nuances, both »Rise Up« and the debut lean more toward the songwriting principles of Eclipse than those of Work Of Art. Mostly because of the density of the riff wall, which is far thicker than with the more precise Work Of Art, who give more room to keyboards in the production. That impression is boosted further by the influence of two Eclipse recruits in the W.E.T. project, the main guitar »soloist« on »Rise Up«, Magnus Henriksson, and drummer Robban Bäck. In an environment like this, Soto’s voice finds its place beautifully, and that Talisman feel, captured in the structure of the songs, doesn’t go missing either. The jigsaw puzzle of musical backgrounds that the players in W.E.T. come from is, in other words, perfect.
This is an album that will keep you wide awake from the first second to the last. A step up from the continuity of its predecessor »W.E.T.« (2009). An album tailor-made for fans of the Scandinavian school of melodic rock and of bravura production that breathes fully in every element and, as such, sets the developmental benchmark of modern production in new-era melodic rock on the planet! You won’t go wrong investing in this album, melodic rock fans. These guys have so much routine, knowledge and experience that they know exactly which moves are allowed and which aren’t when it comes to creating a prototype of true AOR »flammability«. And »Rise Up« is exactly that.
You can already buy the album »Rise Up« at:
Line-up
Jeff Scott Soto – vocals
Erik Mårtensson – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
Robert Säll – keyboards, guitar
Robban Bäck – drums
Magnus Henriksson – guitar, guitar solos
Production
Erik Mårtensson & Robert Säll
Track list
1. Walk Away
2. Learn to Live Again
3. Rise Up
4. Love Heals
5. What You Want
6. The Moment
7. Bad Boy
8. On The Run
9. Broken Wings
10. Shot
11. Still Believe In Us
12. Still Unbroken
