WIG WAM – Never Say Die
- by J.N.
- Posted on 03-03-2021
The Norwegian hard rockers Wig Wam recently returned to the scene and unleashed this fiery and energetic output of theirs via Frontiers Records, and the first thing that struck me when I spun the disc is that "Never Say Die" is a much heavier affair than previous musical endeavors of theirs. The thing is that this twelve-track offering kicks ass and carries punch and power but is also highly dynamic and varied.
The riffs are meaty, the vocal melodies are excellent, the rhythm section delivers a thick and massive groove, and, most importantly, the tunes are interesting and catchy. While the ballads are merely serviceable and decently crafted rather than exceptional, there are some truly wicked, toe-tapping barnstormers to be found on the album and what a fucking thrill it is to hear Wig Wam deliver such huge and spirited hard rock anthems as "Shadows of Eternity", "Dirty Little Secret", "Hypnotized", and the epic title track. Album closer "Silver Lining" is nowhere near climactic enough for "Never Say Die" in the overall perspective and pales in comparison to the others, but fret not as the majority of tracks are glorious rock ‘n’ roll songs with grit and bucketloads of confidence to them.
Wig Wam’s return is a most welcome one in that they sound better and more determined than ever. Very cool!