Winger // Seven // Album Review

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Winger, originally a New York hair/glam metal band founded by and named after their bass player and vocalist Kip Winger have been on and off the scene since the late 80s. After platinum success in the early 90s, their popularity faded, and the band broke up after the rise of Grunge in 1994. they reunited in 2001. This album, aptly named as it is their seventh, marks their first record release in 9 years after ‘Better Days Coming’ in 2014.

‘Proud Desperado’ starts with a Viking-style chant, “heave-ho”. It’s anthemic, melodic, memorable, and heavy. An instant classic rooted in the heroic fable.

‘Heaven’s Falling’ has a welcome hint of 1980s AOR, more of a love song in tone than the religious epic that the title hints. An overlong outro with keyboards noodling in the background feels slightly unnecessary on this track but still a decent listen.

‘Tears of Blood’ features Reb Beach riffing over the relentless apocalyptic lyrics, this song punches you hard in the gut. The bridge, reminiscent of Whitesnake’s 1987 classic comeback hit ‘Still of the Night’ then leads into a tight guitar solo and back to the pounding rhythm of the main riff. A great song.

‘Resurrect Me’ starts with a riff reminiscent of early NWOBHM classics but the slightly clunky lyric and the rather cliched song structure make this feel like a filler track, however ‘Voodoo Fire’, a slow headbanger gets us back in the zone with a complex and sinister exploration of horror as Kip invites us to ‘burn me to life’.

A keyboard and acoustic guitar intro leads us into the epic love song ‘Broken Glass’, a glorious track with a beautiful, heart-rending chord progression. Reb’s talk box riff then leads us into ‘It’s Okay’ with a memorable chorus and a touch of mid-80s David Lee Roth style in the mix.

‘Stick the Knife in and Twist’ takes us into a mixture of cock rock and horror with squealing guitars – Kip’s stint with Alice Cooper in the mid-1980s may have had an influence, a party song for sure. A slow intro then takes us into ‘One Light to Burn’ – again apocalyptic, which seems to be a theme for this album. Exploring themes of predestination, this is another melancholic track with an epic feel.

‘Do or Die’ returns to the chanting style of ‘Proud Desperado’ with an urgent and inspiring call to fight rather than forget your dreams, leading into ‘Time Bomb’ a slightly depressing track on the theme of self-destruction.

The final track, ‘It all Comes Back Around’ starts with a dreamy, wistful intro accompanied by piano and then moves into a long metal ballad questioning the futility and hopelessness of human life, it must be said that the guitar solo on this track is a cracker.

Although this album does tend towards the ominous and sombre in its themes, there are quite a few songs which are absolute winners, and the musicianship is excellent throughout – it’s most definitely worth a listen.

Seven will be available on May 5, 2023, via Frontiers on CD and a limited edition 180g 2LP Gatefold on August 4th 2023.

Review: Dave Smith Price

 

“Seven” tracklisting:
Proud Desperado
Heaven’s Fallen
Tears Of Blood
Resurrect Me
Voodoo Fire
Broken Glass
It’s Okay
Stick The Knife In And Twist
One Light To Burn
Do Or Die
Time Bomb
It All Comes Back Around

Time: 0.55.45

FORMAT:

– CD (Jewel Case)
CATALOG #: FR CD 1319
BARCODE: 8024391131923
BOX LOT: 25x
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2023

LIMITED EDITION 2LP:
2LP (180g Gatefold)
CATALOG #: FR LP 1319
BARCODE: 8024391131954
BOX LOT: 5x
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2023

LIMITED EDITION COLORED 2LP SILVER EXCLUSIVE FOR FRONTIERS WEBSHOPS:
2LP (180g Gatefold)
CATALOG #: FR LP 1319SI
BARCODE: 8024391131930
BOX LOT: 5x
RELEASE DATE: August 4, 2023

Line-up:
Kip Winger – Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitars
Reb Beach – Guitar, Vocals
Rod Morgenstein – Drums
Paul Taylor – Keyboards, Guitar
John Roth – Guitar, Vocals

Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/WingerTheBand/
https://twitter.com/wingertheband
https://www.instagram.com/wingertheband/
https://www.wingertheband.com/

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