Album Review: The Wild! GxDxWxB(2015)

I went to one of my local record stores a few weeks ago. I was talking music with one of the employees. He asked me if I had ever heard of The Wild! (I had not). “Dude, you have to check these guys out!!! They absolutely rock!!!” His exuberance towards the band led me to the cd section(sorry, no vinyl), where I bought the first EP released by the band, GxDxWxB (God Damn Wild Boys)

The Wild! are an appropriately named bunch of hooligans hailing from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. They totally look and act the part of a hard partying, hard rock band. Living large, and having fun. When you open the gatefold cd case, the first words that jump out at you are “We are The Wild! & We Are Fucking Crazy.” No more needs to be said. Except to review the album

Party `til you`re dead – Starts off with cool riff then blasts into what I might describe as a late 80`s/ early 90`s romp. Kind of as if Brian Johnson called in sick and Jesse James Dupree(Jackyl) filled in.

 

Straight To Hell – Sick drum beat. Wailing vocals. Thrashing guitars. Nice background humming and vocals. Toe tapping along with the beat, then soaking in the awesome guitar solos.

Banger – Bass and cymbals start this off. Then the guitar and drums duel it out for supremacy. The twin lead vocals have a deeper growl at times that sound good, and a wail at times that rock. The background vocals in the recording almost have a live effect to them. It adds to the intensity of the song.

Deuces – I can`t quite nail down the vocals here. A bit of 80`s hair metal goodness. The middle of the song delivers a sweet harmonica solo. Nice touch.

Slow Burn – Slow guitar for a few seconds, then increases in intensity. I know that guitar sound from somewhere. See if you can pick it out in the video below (I will explain later) Booming bass. Guest vocalist Christina Vos adds a real sexy, added layer to the song with her beautiful background vocals. I don`t know much about her, but I am inclined to look further. Slow is the main lyric in this song. I suspect there is nothing slow about these guys. They are trying to bring back hard rock back into new music, and they are succeeding in my opinion. Just watch the video below to see what kind of crazy mofo`s you are dealing with.

What About You? – Slow, growly bluesy, ballsy song. It kind of reminds me of Brian Johnson doing a gritty, modern version of Ride On, except even a little ballsier, if that is even: a) a word, b)even possible.

Roadhouse – Sorry Julian. No Patrick Swayze here. Just kick ass, straight ahead rock n roll. Lyrics sound like Jesse James Dupree singing through a megaphone. I was waiting for the chain saw to fire up and The Lumberjack to kick in. Dual vocals help this song out with a complimenting and contrasting style. Kudos to the bass riffs, and the wailing guitar near the end.

This video was shot way back in 2012. Then Mike Fraser(AC/DC, Metallica, Aerosmith, The Cult, Chickenfoot, Van Halen etc.) saw it, called the bands management and said he wanted to work with the band. WOW!!!

The band had enough material for a full album, but Mike Fraser trimmed it down to 7 for this EP. The EP was being recorded in the studio at the same time and place as Rock Or Bust. Mike Fraser let the band use Angus amp, and Angus and Malcolm guitars for recording Slow Burn. DOUBLE WOW!!!

I give the band 10/10 for rocking hard in 2015.

As for the EP itself, I give it a 9.8/10. I can`t wait to see these guys live, and hope there is a full album (including vinyl and cassette) in 2016.