W.E.T.
Retransmission

Erik Mårtensson is probably one the biggest geniuses when it comes to the melodic kind of hard rock and AOR, he has done wonders with Eclipse and is the E in the W.E.T. and probably the main creative mind in the band. The guys between the other letters are Jeff Scott Soto the vocalist of Talisman that is the T, Robert Säll of Work of Art that is the W. Retransmission is the fourth instalment of this band and it follows a trio of excellent releases.

W.E.T. did kind of set a new standard for the modern AOR with their Rise Up album some years ago, the followed that with the probably better album Earthrage in 2018. I think Earthrage probably was stronger than Rise Up but not the same wow-experience and Retransmission follows in the same suit. It is an excellent production that is melodic but also powerful, diverse, varied, with great vocals, it shows what this band is about. Everything feels obvious and confident, clearly something from a band that really knows what they are doing. They mix the nostalgia with the fresh and modern, like a nod back to the eighties but with fresh ideas making them stand out in a genre where much of it is very similar.

Excellent album, it doesn’t have the same immediate wow feel as Rise Up had when I heard that album, but it is great. The songs are all excellent, powerful, catchy and melodic, kind of like you want AOR to be. If one would ever make a sort of guide to how you make impactful AOR, this would be it, or any of the two albums that preceded this one. And it is not just the excellent songs and performances, it is how the album is sequenced with the songs, it is like with Eclipse that they open with an eyeopener and ends with a song leaving you with the desire to hear more. It is a showcase on how to make a great album and it is difficult to stop listening, and the only weakness I can see is that I will have the desire to spend money on buying a copy of the album – that isn’t really much of a weakness, is it?

Top album and for a fan of the melodic areas of the heavy rock stuff it would be monumentally crazy not to listen to this one. W.E.T. keeps setting the standard for the genre and this album will most likely be mentioned amongst the top titles of 2021 considering how rarely I give ratings as high as I give this album. It is most likely the best melodic hard rock album that will be released in 2021 and W.E.T. keeps setting the standard for the genre, Wow. Excellent. Tremendous. This is not an album you should overlook.

HHHHHHH