W.E.T. – S/T (2009)
Fans of Melodic Rock and AOR acts such as Journey, Giant, Whitesnake, and others will wet themselves after hearing the new project featuring Jeff Scott Soto, Lead Vocals, Robert Sall, Guitars, and Erik Martensson, Guitars, Bass, & Keyboards, appropriately titled W.E.T.
“W.E.T” (Work of Art, Eclipse, Talisman) is an acronym for the bands which comprise this new act and if you are not familiar with the members previous work you should get ready for an album filled with big melodic hooks, fiery guitars, and melodies galore. Along with a little help from Magnus Henriksson, Guitars, and Robban Back, on Drums, W.E.T. have put together one of the best melodic rock records of the year.
“Invincible” is the perfect opener giving us a taste of what we can expect on this album right from the start with it grand keyboards, a driving intro from Martensson on guitar, and of course JSS’s vocals, who I think is one of the most underrated singers in the music business today. “One Love” was my first taste of W.E.T. and I was instantly hooked with it’s radio ready chorus, outstanding background vocals, and a great driving bass line that combined make you want to crank up the volume and sing along at the top of your lungs. Much like “Invincible” and “One Love”, “Brothers In Arms” is another radio friendly track custom made to light up the bics and cell phones throughout the stadiums.
Very seldom, am I impressed with ballads, but not only am I impressed with “Comes Down Like Rain” it is the best song on this album and quite possibly one of the best songs of the year. JSS sings this song to absolute perfection and Magnus Henriksson plays one of the best solos I’ve heard this year. “Comes Down Like Rain” is one of those songs you just want to put on repeat and listen to it over and over non-stop. “Running From The Heartache” is a mid tempo track in the vein of Giant and Foreigner, Erik Martensson continues to impress me with his keyboards which enhance this album instead of trying to overpower the album like a lot of keyboards tend to do.
Other stand-out tracks include “I’ll Be There”, “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is”, “My Everything” and “If I Fall”. If you like your rock a little on the heavier side W.E.T. may not be your cup of tea, but if you like songs filled with sing along choruses, background vocals, and some stellar guitar and keyboards, W.E.T. will definitely fit the bill. I can’t see fans of Journey, Giant, Hardline, or Foreigner not having this album in their collection. Hopefully this will not be the first and last W.E.T. album, as I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the band can progress after this debut.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
01. Invincible
02. One Love
03. Brothers In Arms
04. Comes Down Like Rain
05. Running From The Heartache
06. I’ll Be There
07. Damage Is Done
08. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
09. One Day At A Time
10. Just Go
11. My Everything
12. If I Fall
W.E.T. is:
Jeff Scott Soto: All Lead Vocals
Erik Martensson: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Background Vocals
Robert Säll: Lead Guitar on Running From the Heartache.
With
Robban Back: Drums
Magnus Henriksson: Lead Guitar on Brothers In Arms, One Day At A Time, I’ll Be There, Comes Down Like Rain, Just Go, If I Fall.
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Could be a descendant of Foreigner.
Thanks for the great review! We’ve been waiting and waiting for this release! Jeff Scott Soto does it once again!
One of the best albums of these days! 9,9 of 10
I’m chompin’ at the bit for this record. Amazon says it doesn’t come out until 11-24, so I guess I’ll have to listen to Mastedon’d new cd, 3, until then!