Iconic rockers Winger’s new album is an absolute monster, a behemoth of a release that highlights just what a talented set of musicians this band is. ‘Seven’ is released on May 5 and is the band’s first release since ‘Better Days Comin” in 2014. The album was produced in Nashville by Kip Winger and features all four of the original members — Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Rod Morgenstein, and Paul Taylor plus additional guitarist John Roth, who was added to the band back in 1992.
As we’ve watched a number of the biggest and most famous singers and bands who dominated the hard rock scene of the 80s and early 90s degrade in public before our very eyes, Winger have gone from strength to strength across a number of albums. Similar to bands like Tyketto, they are, arguably, in a better state now than they were in 1991. The elephant in the room with Winger is that they were always too experimental for MTV and the hard rock fluff of the late 80s but not academic enough (or, let’s be honest, ugly enough) for the Prog rock brigade. This has meant that they’ve often fallen between the cracks in terms of acclaim and recognition and their name is still sometimes erroneously used as a way to poke fun at a genre that the mainstream media has never taken seriously enough. Across a number of albums, Winger have proved, time and time again, that you can make meaning, melody and musclebound riffs alongside thoughtful musicianship and daring experimentalism in the hard rock genre without succumbing to cliches or lazy, derivative pastiches.
All kudos to Kip Winger for helming the beast that is ‘Seven’ but the real stars of the show are guitarists, Reb Beach and John Roth. The riffage on display on this album is simply monumental. Unrestrained guitars abound across every song in a way that touches upon the heritage of the 80s and yet is also grounded in the heavier, more European-centric sound that has tended to dominate the 21st century. Opening track ‘Proud Desperado’ explodes out of the gates with some serious guitar histrionics and gang-vocal chanting with Kip singing about ‘crimson skies’, ‘rivers of tears’ and being ‘sold out’. It’s heavy stuff. He could be singing about the dwindling rock legends of the 80s but he could also be singing about our political leaders too. An anthemic chorus and searing solo drives this song home and sets the tone for the rest of the album.
Elsewhere, that sense of ominous foreboding can also be found on tracks like ‘Tears of Blood’ and ‘Time Bomb’. The former, all replete with chugging guitars and driving drums, sees Winger stating, ‘I wish you well on the road to hell’ on a song that would not be out of place on Black Sabbath’s ‘Headless Cross’ album. ‘Time Bomb’, meanwhile, opens with a riff that is uncannily similar to Shinedown’s iconic ‘Sound of Madness’ song before settling into something both cuttingly modern and classically based at the same time.
For fans of the late 80s and early 90s rock sound, Winger present ‘Stick the Knife in and Twist’, ‘Resurrect Me’ and ‘Heaven’s Falling’ as being reminiscent of that sound and style. ‘Stick the Knife In…..’ is an absolute fantastic, balls-to-the-wall rocker with a fresh, vibrant sheen painted over the top of its 80s origins. Huge gang-vocal harmonies hit big and there aren’t many bands that could get away with phrases like ‘love apocalypse’ on a song about ‘daddy being a monster’ but Winger mange it with some aplomb here. ‘Resurrect Me’, meanwhile, sounds like a heady mix of Dokken covering Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ album. It explodes with guitars from the off and never lets up. A straight-down-the-line rocker, it barrels along towards what might well be the best chorus on ‘Seven’ with a mix of classic harmonies and modern muscle propelling it. ‘Heaven’s Falling’ opens with a classic riff/keyboard combo before settling into a very restrained, atmospheric vibe as it builds towards its very own monster of a chorus. ‘How can two hearts beat as one but never see eye to eye’, Kip Winger muses as he watches this particular relationship going south. A delightfully melodic guitar solo, all long notes and bluesy vibes, make this track one of the stand-out moments on what is a very powerful album.
Throw in the funky bass vibes of ‘Voodoo Fire’ and you can see Winger experimenting before your eyes. Replace Kip Winger’s vocals here with James Hetfield’s and you’ve got a song that could easily have been lifted straight from Metalica’s iconic ‘Black’ album. ‘It’s Okay’ comes drenched in the guitar talk box that Bon Jovi made popular on ‘Livin on a Prayer’ and ‘Broken Glass’ plunges headfirst into that Led Zeppelin meets Kingdom Come world of floaty, ephemeral verses and louder, more bombastic choruses. Across all these tracks the guitars rule. They stand head and shoulders above most of what is being pushed as hard or melodic rock these days.
‘Seven’ climaxes with the seven and a half minute epic, ‘It All Comes Back Around’, which might very well be the best track on the album. It builds from its quiet beginnings to become something bigger, louder and more explosive. Think Meat Loaf jamming with Judas Priest and Linkin Park! Yep, it’s a weird mixture of references but I can hear them all in there on this beast of a track that throws in all elements of hard, melodic and prog rock into one glorious, unique concoction. The poster child for this album, ‘It All Comes Back Around’ is unrestrained, experimental, brave and bombastic in equal measures.
Winger are out on tour supporting Steel Panther this month. Let that sink in for a moment, if you will. It’s great that we will get to see them live but how many of the songs from ‘Seven’ will they be able to play supporting a band that started out as a ‘Rock of Ages’ style pastiche? There’s something wrong with a genre and fan base that have allowed this to happen. ‘Seven’ sits alongside Gotthard’s ‘Lip Service’, Treat’s ‘Coup de Grace’ and Danger Danger’s ‘Revolve’ as being amongst the greatest hard rock albums of the 21st century so far, it’s that good. The juxtaposition of muscle and melody on this album is unique as Winger pay homage to their past and blaze a brand new trail into the future. Who will be there to support them in another ten years, if it takes them that long to make another album, is anyones guess as the musicians, fans and commercial viability of this genre dwindles year on year? If ‘Seven’ proves to be Winger’s swan song, then by god, they’ve gone out in some style. If it isn’t and there are more albums still to come from this talented set of musicians, I can’t wait to see what else they will do in a genre that they’ve now outgrown and can quite happily sit above, watching below as the rest of their peers and contemporaries try to keep up with them.
Tracklist: 1. Proud Desperado 2. Heaven’s Fallen 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 Record Label: Frontiers Release Date: May 5th Buy ‘Seven’ now
