I’ve been a fan of Winger since their self-titled debut back in 1988. Ok, so the record had its ups and downs and was actually uneven at times but the good songs were so damn good and also, I thought it was really cool that it was band made of two of members of Alice Cooper’s band in singer/bassist Kip Winger and keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Paul Taylor. The fact that the two other musicians guitarist Reb Beach and ex Dixie Dregs drummer Rob Morgenstein were amazingly skilled didn’t hurt either. The follow-up, 1990’s In The Heart Of The Young left most of the uneven songs at bay but even though both records were major successes it was with 1993’s Pull that Winger came out as the beast they showed promise to be on the first albums. A masterpiece.
Of course, in 1993 Grunge had taken over and nobody gave a crap about a new album from a band like Winger – especially Winger as they for some reason became the laughing stock of all late 80’s bands much because of Metallica’s stupidity and the brain-dead yet oh so entertaining TV-show Beavis & Butthead. I can guarantee that most people who mocked Winger never gave them a fair listen ever. By 1994 it was over and it would take them 13 years to reunite. Their reunion album IV (2006) was a quite progressive effort which confused many fans but man was it a brilliant album and even better was Karma (2009), a fine blending of Winger’s two first albums and Pull. Better Days Comin’ (2016) became a somewhat watershed record among fans – I dug it though – which maybe was a reason for Winger promising a classic Winger record for the new one. For me personally, I don’t really care which way they go as I know it’s never about IF the album will be any good as much as which level of good it will be.
Opener and first single “Proud Desperado” – a co-write with Kip, Beach and Desmond Child, a guy they never wrote with back in the day – is exactly what I wanted hear from the band. First off, this is no “Livin’ On A Prayer” by any means, it’s more a brilliant blend of Karma and Pull. It’s an upbeat and crunchy rocker with big guitars, big melodies and a beefy rhythm. It comes with a live-friendly groove, it’s quite heavy too with some infectious gang-vocals following and the big chorus is simply massive and the whole tune shows a fired-up band with lots of life left in the engine-room. It’s simply amazing, yes sir.
As a throwback to the band’s late 80’s/early 90’s, “Heaven’s Falling” might bring on some more pop-laden melodies and a slightly mellow arrangement but it keeps the tempo up and it’s guitar-driven with a juicy punch. While going on the Melodic Rock route I can also sense traces from Kip’s solo stuff and their come back album IV which makes it not just a “let’s go back to the 80’s” tune. Great stuff. Also a single “Tears Of Blood” is dark, heavy and rough-edged in a mid-tempo with a riff mildly borrowed from AC/DC’s “Hells Bells”. It’s a distinct and powerful Hard Rock number with a slight metal-twist yet with a striking main-melody and a chorus that grabs you by the whatever right from go without going radio-hit on us. Simply phenomenal.
“Resurrect Me” is a banging, four-on-the-floor, chugga-chugga riffed Pull-era hard rocker on a straight forward note. It’s a deep-cut for sure yet with memorable melody-lines all over carried by a beefy drum-beat and a punchy bass-line with a direct and striking classic Winger chorus on top. Can’t go wrong with that so yeah, great tune. On a groovy note, latest single “Voodoo Fire” shakes loose with a bouncy rhythm on some killer bass runs and a funky guitar. It’s quite heavy and holds a darker soundscape but is at the same time both catchy and smooth with raunchy guitar-vibes. Think “Down Incognito” recorded for In the Heart Of The Young with a ballsier outlook and you’re pretty close. It’s terrific.
It’s ballad-time when “Broken Glass” turns up but it’s not “Miles Away” power balladry at all. It’s a soothing and soft-ish tune that holds a dreamy soundscape and vocal-melodies that are almost hypnotic, something that brings Kip’s earliest solo stuff to mind. It opens with a piano interlude and continues acoustic guitar driven with a bit of a Led Zep-touch whereas the chorus is majestic and bombastic with an instant catchiness. Awesome. With “It’s Okay”, Winger looks back to the early days of chunky and beefy riffing, straight ahead melodies and direct rhythms. The talk-box and wah-pedal might throw a wink at Bon Jovi but the rest is all classic Winger, especially the smooth and sugar-coated yet not cheesy chorus, a chorus that would’ve fitted the two first album perfectly – and probably brought them yet another hit as well. I love this.
Maybe the heaviest and most hard-hitting song on the album is the metal-punchy riff-monster “Stick The Knife In And Twist”. Lyrically venomous, dark and angry this ballsy and muscular Metal meets Hard Rock belter includes equal parts Pull and Karma, frantic and edgy yet with some striking gang-vocals and in-your face melodies. You think Winger’s a cheese-band? Well, take a listen to this and come back to me. It’s a splendid number that brings on the heaviness yet keeps the memorable hooks and another refrain that you really can’t say no to. Bang on target!
Staying on the heavier, metal-fueled route “One Light To Burn” throws some edgy and fired-up riffage our way with a kidney-punchy drum-rhythm and thunderous bass-lines. It’s a song taken right of of Pull‘s back-pocket, written for the stage. It’s direct and concise with a kicking groove and a strong main-melody. It might not be as strong as the rest of the album but still a good number. “Do Or Die” comes with slower and more held-back verses with a clear nod to Kip’s unplugged laden solo-work but takes a big leap into a gutsier and heavier metal-flirtatious number with a bullseye melody-hook in the chorus. Also, the solo-part takes a turn towards 70’s Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore. A song of quite a few faces – simply amazing.
Getting close to the end we’re getting one dark and heavy number in a slow pace, “Time Bomb”, a song that comes with a monster riff and a dark atmosphere that’s even Black Sabbath like. There’s a fierce drive here on a slamming note with robust guitars in focus and a solid beat that really goes boom. On top lies a strong melody-hook and a chorus that takes no prisoners. Great. The album closes with the more sombre and low-key second single “It All Comes Back Around” that starts out with only a piano and vocals. With its haunting atmosphere the song goes bigger when the band joins in still on a mellow note before it pulls back again. This seven minute-plus epic ballad shifts from the dark and held-back and at times daunting moods to a more grandiose soundscape with progressive elements thrown in and heavier sections while all the while melodic enough to create a wholesome character. This is masterful, peeps.
The fact that Winger once again would deliver the goods wasn’t even close to a surprise but that they have now released their finest effort since Pull is really a WOW moment. This album really is that good. When the band now have gathered the whole original line-up plus guitarist John Roth who replaced Taylor back in 1993 it’s only natural that the songs have elements of both their smoother late 80’s/early 90’s, Pull and later releases as IV and Karma. This is a heavy album. A slap-shot right in upper corner of the net. It’s also catchy and melodic and at times progressive. Don’t be a moron and use Beavis & Butthead as your backbone for slagging this band, check this album (and the rest of them) out instead. There’s a good chance you’ll have a change of heart. This is a killer!
9/10
More Winger reviews:
Tracklist:
1. Proud Desperado
2. Heaven’s Falling
3. Tears Of Blood
4. Resurrect Me
5. Voodoo Fire
6. Broken Glass
7. It’s Okay
8. Stick The Knife In And Twist
9. One Light To Burn
10. Do Or Die
11. Time Bomb
12. It All Comes Back Around
CD & Festival reviews 