01.All Hail The Wasted
02.Wildside Riot
03.Broken Toys
04.Fukk Em
05.Candiis Gone Bad
06.That’s What Sunday Mornings Are For
07.Babe I Gotta Go
08.Angel On My Back
09.My Paradise
10.Glitter-Tramps
11.Wasted Lust
12.My Woman
13.There Is A Bullet For Each Of You
Rocky Shades (Vocals)
Joss Riot (Guitar)
Jimmy Gunn (Guitar)
Gaz Wilde (Drums)
James Crofts (Bass)
Back before the days of American influenced galm/sleaze rock, Wrathchild (formed in 1980) were one of the leaders of traditional british glam rock.
Fronted by the larger than life Rocky Shades they tore up the uk till 1989 when the onset of grunge took its toll on the home market.
In 2006 Rocky reformed Wrathchild known as "RSW" whilst the other members reformed their own version, seemingly beset by various problems Rocky regrouped as Wildside Riot in december 2010 and officially returned to the music scene in july 2011.
Throughout last year they recorded an album, shot a promotional video and started to gig to ever increasing popularity.
Kicking off with a slow drum beat 'All Hail The Wasted' hails the return of a very british sounding band, which to my ears is a great relief!
Its simple, anthemic and has a great riff running through it.
"what are you afraid of? Its only rock and roll" asks the opening sample to the self titled song, and it is indeed rock and roll, hitting all the right chords without tring to be clever.
'Broken Toys' is a drum driven rocker with almost rockabilly style timing and guitar.Cracking guitar solo at the end!
Now i would have expected 'Fukk Em' to have that old Wrathchild feel due to the spelling, however this rocker reminds me of classic Zodiac Mindwarp due to that 'Prime Mover' riff.
Sleazy guitar opens 'Candiis Gone Bad', this is another song that has that 50's rock n roll feel, it really bounces along and Rocky's vocal is bang on.
There i was banging my head gently to the rockin sounds of 'Thats What Sunday Mornings Are For' then it went all slow with moody vocals, dammit this is one of those rock ballad love song type things Arggghhh!
Oh no not again this time it's 'Babe I Gotta Go' not quite a love song but one of those bitter sweet goodbye songs!!
Its got great harmony on the backing vocals and some nice acoustic guitar running through but couldnt listen to this one again.
So far we have had rock, then ballad type songs and now we have a funky little tune called 'Angel On My Back' definatley a touch of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers with a slightly gospel sounding backing vocal.
This song is so different from everything else on the album that it sticks out - But in a good way, this one is fucking awesome!
Another slowish, bouncy tune with a 50's tinge, 'My Paradise' is an uplifting song delivered in a downbeat style.
'Glitter Tramps' gets us back on track with the no shit heads down rock, anthemic and punchy.
This one, 'Wasted Lust' sounds like an outtake from Van Halen's 1984 album, i was expecting more just by the songs title, it's okay but i was dissapointed.
'My Woman' is a mid paced rocker that would be perfect for radio play.
Finally 'There Is A Bullet For Each Of You' ends the album on a high, slightly tounge-in-cheek lyrics and solid instrumentation and a sing a long chorus, destined to be a crowd pleaser.
To sum up, i am pleased to say that Rocky and his cohorts have produced a great album that has (on the whole) avoided that Motley Crue/Guns N Roses sound that has come to define this genre these days.
Rocky's vocals remain his own and with the exception of 'Wasted Lust' has remained true to the sound he became known for 30 years ago!
Rating 9/10
For Fans Of: Mercy House, Zodiac Mindwarp, King Lizard, Wasted Sinners, Ace Mafia
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