THE WILDCARDS - Highland People CD-EP

Debut 3-tracker from Aberdeen rockers and it's a case of starts strong and gets stronger. The title track kind of flows and snarls into life rather than erupts as the powerful vocals drive from verse to chorus as the guitars gather strength and the rhythms become ever more heated, the whole thing taking off in a hail of anthemic rock only to drop back to the verses before another rocket ride to the choruses begins again. Amid bursts of guitar leads in pure Classic Rock stylee, the rhythm section thunders on at mid-pace before the menacing vocal returns and the song takes a turn marked “strange” only for that lead guitar to break out and right into another high-flying chorus that as much Prodigy as it is Guns 'N' Roses, on what's a pretty neat slice of steadily building, blazing rock. But if that was powerful, “Find A Way” really does erupt as the band really let go and show that they truly are a metal band to be reckoned with as a much more straight-ahead slice of sleaze-metal roars through your head powered by riffing, red hot guitars, driving, rolling rhythms and menacing, hollered, fast-paced powerful vocals where the whole thing becomes one gigantic chorus and, although I hate to say it, knocks seven bells out of the previous track. To prove that this kind of stuff is their true role in life, “Old Addictions” combines Guns 'N' Roses and Wildhearts in one fierce guitars-driven rocker of a track, veering between verses and hooks with wild guitar leads, raging riffing and solid, powerful, pounding rhythm section playing, as the track takes off like a rocket and storms into your head. I can see why they chose the lead track for a more commercial sounding flavour, but it's the following two tracks that reveal the real powerhouse that this band truly is.
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