WISDOM

Never judge an album by its cover (or a band by its logo)...an adage worth its wisdom on so many occasions. However, with certain albums you just know what you're going to hear before hitting that play button and Hungarian band Wisdom's sophomore full-length release, 'Judas', met my expectations head-on. Cue a barrage of anthemic, trad/power metal songs loaded with infectious hooks as sing-along chorus after sing-along chorus bursts forth. Cheese is the key here, and I don't mean that derogatorily as everyone likes the occasional slab of cheese, right? (even if it is repressed under the category of "guilty pleasure") Me? When in the right mood, I'm partial to a little cheese now and again, and 'Juads' fulfils that part-time proclivity right now. 'Judas' doesn't reek of the strongest stilton à la Freedom Call but it's up there with the best mature cheddar acts in the scene such as Edguy et al. Guitar harmonies, vocal harmonies, tried-and-tested drums patterns and time signatures based around trad/power metal song structures, very occasional acoustic guitar, weather-themed sound effects used as song intros, guitar solos where you'd expect them to be...and so on. It's all present and wrapped up in a lovely, shiny production aimed at delivering a heavy dose of metal euphoria to every pair of ears it reaches. Quite simply, there's nothing to dislike about this album. The contrary, however, there's nothing wildly innovative to get excited about. But it's not attempting to be stylistically iconoclastic in any small way. It succeeds in its adopted aesthetic with a series of tracks that are ripe for the live stage...and it just so happens Wisdom are opening support act on Sabaton's European tour later this year so cheese loving peeps will be able to sample this sonic stilton first-hand. Oh, and for those who might be interested, famed Swedish vocalist Mats Levén pops up at one point with a guest spot, adopting the traitorous role in the album's title track.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

NoiseArt Records

Album

JUDAS

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

40:28

RELEASE DATE:

27th August 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Fallin' Away from Grace
2) Somewhere Alone
3) Age of Lies
4) Live Forevermore
5) Wander the World
6) Heaven and Hell
7) Silent Hill
8) At the Gates
9) The Prodigal Son
10) Judas

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Hungary

"...aimed at delivering a heavy dose of metal euphoria to every pair of ears it reaches."