Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Wilson, Damian
Label: Black Lake Records
Release: 2016
Running time: 45:42
Rating: 4/5
It’s only fair that we spill a word or two about the fourth solo studio album from Damian Wilson, vocalist of Threshold, Headspace and Landmarq! »Built for Fighting« is an album that reflects everything in Wilson that has nothing to do with his usual progressive metal business in Threshold, Headspace, Ayreon and Star One, or with Rick Wakeman and Mostly Autumn. And the list doesn’t end there, because Damian Wilson is an incredibly busy musician. Over his career he’s popped up one way or another on more than seventy albums by all sorts of artists, and in the mid-nineties Iron Maiden themselves put him through an audition, back when they were frantically hunting for a replacement for the “runaway” Bruce Dickinson. In short, Wilson is a hugely respected musician on the scene, and a singer above all.
Now, what »Built for Fighting« delivers is a continuation of what Wilson already offered on his three previous solo studio albums. Really, it’s a fresh imprint, a reflection of this musician’s artistic maturing. Its twelve songs bring an incredible variety of ideas, and not just in the songwriting challenges but in the production approaches too. Wilson pulls off quite a few genre jumps here, but above all this time around he presents himself first and foremost as a sensitive singer-songwriter, stepping into the center of it all especially with a touch of personal, confessional poetry (the tender, soulful closing songs of the album, I Won’t Blame Life and Battlelines). What we hear on the album is a kind of art rock which, with its extreme melodic suppleness and sensual mood-crafting (the album is distinctly atmospheric), is more likely to draw in fans of easygoing, radio-friendly rock, if not outright pop-art aesthetics, than those hoping for another Wilson progressive metal excess. Into the art rock mix of »Built for Figting« Damian has breathed genre leaps from world music and even traditional British musical folklore (Written in Anger, When I Was Young); there’s a cheeky hard rock detour (Sex & Vanilla),while What Have We Done makes it instantly clear that with its pop catchiness it’s looking for the direct favor of the radio airwaves. But the tracks that ignite the most are the ones where all you can say is that it’s art rock with mildly eclectic touches, like the opening Thrill Me, or Can’t Heal War in the second half, while the brilliant Fire, with its dual nature, evokes some detours toward the prog rock nomenclature of the classic British recipe. Wilson also tacked on a really interesting version of the Depeche Mode original Somebody, which sounds like one of his own creations and fits this album superbly.
Damian has a strikingly distinctive and special voice. He sounds incredibly authoritative and, with his clean melodic approach, is hugely dominant in the arrangements. But when it’s called for, his hypersensitivity, refined sensuality and softness take on a special character (Somebody, Fire, Battlelines, I Won’t Blame Life). That’s the side that, to superficial ears used to Wilson’s general work in Threshold, usually goes unmentioned, and Damian gets strong creative and performance backing from the outstanding musicians on this album, which satisfies every demand for absolute, sonically refined perfectionism. These musicians have, after all, worked over their careers with the likes of Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Take That, Three Friends, Steve Hackett, It Bites, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, The Strawbs and Ray Davies, so there’s no room on this album for artistic misfires.
»Built For Fighting« is a gorgeous singer-songwriter album from Damian Wilson, and in the most beautiful way it lays bare the musical sides of the artist’s personal songwriting craft that usually stay hidden because of Wilson’s reputation as one of the finest vocalists in progressive metal.
Damian Wilson – Thrill Me (official lyric video):
Lineup
Damian Wilson – vocals, guitar
Brian Willoughby – guitar
Adam Wakeman – keyboards
Lee Pomeroy – bass guitar
Bill Shanley – drums
Production
Andrew Holdsworth
Tracklist
1. Thrill Me
2. When I Was Young
3. Impossible
4. Fire
5. Somebody
6. Sex & Vanilla
7. Can’t Heal War
8. What Have We Done
9. Written In Anger
10. All I Need
11. I Won’t Blame Life
12. Battlelines
