Massive Wagons // Earth To Grace // Album Review

Lancashire rockers Massive Wagons return with their seventh album “Earth To Grace” and it’s a humdinger.

I have heard Massive Wagons over the years but never really listened to them properly and after hearing this I am now wondering why not as this is right up my street; it’s part rock, part punk but all killer. The album opens with “Sleep Forever”, a belter of a tune to get things underway, gritty riffs and a kicking drum beat set it up for Mills to come in over the top with sneery vocals, Adam Bouskill’s bass line thundering underneath it all gives a nice heavy feel while Adam Thistlethwaite’s wizardry on the guitar is unbelievable as he shreds big time with a killer solo midway through, the funky bass riff at the outro is deadly. “Missing On TV” starts like a Leppard track quickly turning into a pop-punk anthemic track that has a seriously catchy hook, the riffs are light and the chorus airy, and the tempo is dialled back slightly but there is still a great kick to the rhythm with a subtle bassline and drum beat that blows up near the end and allows Thistlethwaite to let rip, a great track.

“Free And Easy” has a country rock feel aiming at the States in a piss-take manner, saying he’d rather be in Morecambe than the USA, there is a singalong clap-along ending to this one, a good bit of tongue-in-cheek fun with a great rhythm. “Night Skies” is one of the best tracks on the album, a slow one that has all the elements of glam rock, again Leppard, Bon Jovi et al, a rousing chorus’, as Mills stretches his pipes to reach the highs, and crushing verses, the silky guitar riffs, tempered drumming and a rumbling bass make this a cracking track. “The Good Die Young” with Colin Doran from Hundred Reasons brings the punk back with another anthem for the ages; the kicking drums, blistering bass and killer riff are amazing while Doran and Mills go back and forth on vocals to great effect and raise the bar here. “All We Got” is a real rocker and it’s deadly; great riffs, a killer rhythm and MIlls crooning away to his heart’s content, it’s class and will have you dreaming about summer, it just has that vibe to it. “Cool Like A Fox” has Mills snarling his way through this one and is ably backed up by heavy grinding riffs and a thumping drum and bass beat, it has a down-and-dirty feel to it add Thistlethwaite’s gritty solo and you have a banger tune, love it. “Fun While It Lasted” picks the pace up giving you another rocker with punk tendencies, hard and fast; the catchy chorus will stick in your head, believe me, once more the guitar work from both Axe men is out of this world, this is a killer tune.

“Whatever Makes You Happy” brings the edgy side of the band out with a darker, heavier feel, Bouskill’s sinister bass is the main reason for this, it is a thing of beauty that deserves all the plaudits on this one, while Mills does his utmost to make you feel uncomfortable with his creepy vocals, a monster track. Coming in heavy is “Underdog” with its big drum and riff opening with Mills giving it socks with gravelly vocals in the verses while his melodic side comes out in the chorus, this is a serious earworm which only gets better with each listen, and everyone is dialled in big time here giving one hell of a track, my pick of the album to be honest. The album closes with “Rabbit Hole” a rabid rocker that doesn’t let up from the first refrains, Mills spits the lyrics out with vitriol to a backdrop of cutting riff and a blistering drum beat and thick bass, and the track slows at the midpoint just so you can draw breath before it ramps back up to a monstrous crescendo as the track closes out, a fitting way to close the album.

I Really loved this one, it has been on constant repeat since I got my hands on it. “Earth To Grace” is out on the 8th of November, do not miss this.

Review: Conor

Pre-order the album now on coloured vinyl, black vinyl, signed bonus edition CD and more at earache.com/massivewagons.

Massive Wagons are:

Barry Mills Vocals

Adam Thistlethwaite Guitar

Alex Thistlethwaite Drums

Stephen Holl Guitar

Adam Bouskill Bass

Meet the band at a record store near you this November to celebrate Earth To Grace! Get your store-bought copy of the album (including the indie exclusive orange vinyl and an exclusive CD edition with 2x bonus tracks) and perhaps you’ll witness a few acoustic tracks from the new album too!

For more information and to secure your spot, head to linktr.ee/massivewagonsinstore.

Note: Baz & Stevie will be at every in-store – however, some of the other band members won’t be at all locations.

The in-stores include:

Fri 8th Nov (Afternoon) – Wax & Beans, Bury

Fri 8th Nov (Evening) – HMV Vault, Birmingham

Sat 9th Nov (Afternoon) – HMV, Lancaster

Sat 9th Nov (Evening) – Jacaranda, Liverpool

Sun 10th Nov (Evening) – Fighting Cocks, Kingston

Mon 11th Nov (Afternoon) – Slice Of Vinyl, Gosport

Mon 11th Nov (Evening) – Vinilo, Southampton

Tue 12th Nov (Afternoon) – Rough Trade, Bristol

Tue 12th Nov (Evening) – Rough Trade, Nottingham

Wed 13th Nov (Afternoon) – Crash, Leeds

Wed 13th Nov (Evening) – Beartree, Sheffield

Fri 15th Nov (Evening) – Assai, Glasgow

Sat 16th Nov (Afternoon) – Assai, Dundee

Sat 16th Nov (Evening) – Assai, Edinburgh

Recently, the band announced their plans to take charity Andy’s Man Club on the road with them for their UK headline tour in November. Andy’s Man Club are a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups, for men over 18 going through storms in their lives, with approximately 225 clubs meeting weekly across the UK and online. Clubs are free to attend with no registration required. Andrew Roberts, for whom the club is named, was only 23 years old when he took his own life. On average one man every two hours takes his life in the UK.

The charity will have a stall in the foyer of each venue, with 4-6 facilitators from local Andy’s Man Clubs at each UK tour date, roaming as welcoming “sweepers” amongst attendees, handing out wristbands, and sharing details of their local club meetings for more support. There will also be on stage talks during band changeovers and an interactive installation posing the five questions each meeting is structured around, for gig goers to answer. You can watch a video here of the band honestly considering the five questions themselves in their own impromptu meeting.

UK DATES – including Andy’s Man Club, with special guests Florence Black:

22 Nov – Rock City, Nottingham

23 Nov – SWX, Bristol

24 Nov – Engine Rooms, Southampton

26 Nov – O2 Institute, Birmingham

27 Nov – SWG3, Glasgow

29 Nov – O2 Ritz, Manchester

30 Nov – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London

The group also have two shows lined up in Dublin and Belfast in December:

6 Dec – Grand Social, Dublin

7 Dec – Limelight 2, Belfast

To see all dates and get tickets, visit massivewagons.com/live.