Music Review // Dan Wande "Way Back"

https://open.spotify.com/album/4o7rx6XpqWYnsj3AhReYur

When I first put these songs on I thought this was the type of metal which existed before grunge came along and pushed it out of the mainstream.  The more I listened to these three songs though, the more I realized that simply wasn't true as it feels more like these songs came before that even and are more of a pure metal vibe than what would be thought of as "big hair metal".   These songs are not so much Guns N Roses but what came before them.

These songs have big guitar chords, complex guitar riffs and even the keys come into play.  I would put Dan Wande on tour with Fozzy right now and in an overall sense of the music scene at one point in time it would have been something to see him play with Ugly Kid Joe.   There are back and forth hypnotic tones to start the titular track as well, before it really just kicks in heavy.  This is something that you need to hear because even if I can tell you which artists this sounds like- to name names- you still need to experience it to really get the full idea.

In a lot of ways, this reminds me of a band you would hear on the "Wayne's World" soundtrack.  Something guitar heavy that just flat out rocks.   Alice Cooper comes to mind.   And while I generally tend to think of this sound as being one captured on vinyl in the 1970's, I could see it coming over a little bit into the 1980's and if I heard this growing up, in my youth, on cassette it would seem right at home.  I remember- especially when CDs came into play- buying a lot of cassettes for cheap and finding a lot of metal on them that I really grew to love.

With lines like "You've been drinking my wine and you've been stealing my dreams" to "Living in fear / the end is now here" you get the general idea of what the songs are about.  Of the three there isn't really a "pretty love ballad" type, though that isn't to say one might not exist on a future release, but these right here are three songs which are just straight forward, ass-kicking metal.  The talent which it takes to create them feels very much out of this world.