Album Review: The Wildhearts - The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
It’s sometimes hard being a fan of The Wildhearts; at other times, it’s exhilarating. Earth vs – along with Troublegum and How to Win Friends and Influence People – defined the UK scene in the mid-Nineties and featured many tunes that held a place of permanence in the band’s set list throughout their career. The on/ off nature of their presence – a gap of six years between Endless, Nameless and …Must be Destroyed; a decade between ¡Chutzpah! and the career-restarting Renaissance Men in 2019 – made keeping up with them a full-time job.
At that stage it looked like The Wildhearts were back, firing on all cylinders and ready for the long-haul. Around this time I saw the band more times than during their Nineties hey-day, including at Rebellion punk festival and Bloodstock Open Air. I even caught them at the Guildhall in Preston in 2018, a gig Ginger didn’t play – the guitar and vocal duties landing on Chris Catalyst for that show – but it was still a blinder.
All looked rosy in The Wildhearts’ camp, with a further appearance at the first post-Covid Bloodstock, the Download Pilot and Steelhouse Festivals, and a booking for the Special Guest slot at Stonedead and the R Fest in 2022.
Then things feel apart, leading to an announcement that the band were on another hiatus due to ongoing issues between members.
The announcement that The Wildhearts would be Friday headliner at Steelhouse gave cause for optimism, as did the whispers of Ginger reconstructing the band and issuing a new album.
Which leads to the release on March 7th of the band’s eleventh studio record, The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts – a play on the title of the 1973 Hammer Studios’ Dracula outing - and their comeback of sorts.
The ever-present (apart from that Preston show) Ginger has marshalled a new collection of recruits, including The Walter E Hodges Band’s guitarist, Ben Marsden, sometime Cardiac Jon Poole on bass and, Pontius Snibb – frontman of Swedes, Bonafide - playing drums.
Satanic Rites… feels like a Wildhearts record from the start, though Eventually begins with a wall of sound, the familiar vibes are all present. Sharp and snappy chords, driving rhythms, alternating between the heavy to a more classic rock style and a ripping solo, it’s as multi-faceted as Renaissance Man’s Dislocated.
Can’t help but notice a number of autobiographical songs sprinkled throughout the record: Troubadour Moon is pure Wildhearts and a contemplation of the music business and its interaction with those who create; Blue Moon over Brinkburn name-checks a town in the north-east of England and is all about the rhythm section, and a deliciously honest lyric.
The Wildhearts have always drawn inspiration for across the musical spectrum, so calling them a merely a heavy metal band is to do them an injustice. Scared of Glass is packed full of punky vibes and an upbeat feel, even down to the Gospel section at the end; Kunce is a short, anthemic play on words, with a few by-the-by prog elements.
Maintain Radio Silence is the album’s rollicking raging tune, it’s fast, frenzied and uncompromising; Hurt People Hurt People is an uplifting ballad built from simple lines, and I’ll Be Your Monster has an unexpected saxophone solo, and a distinct Rob Zombie feel. Fire in the Cheap Seats is an edgy, asynchronous barrage of dissonance which seems to sum up the song’s subject matter.
Yet, The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts saves its most impressive and important moment for its climax. Failure Is the Mother of Success is an encapsulation of thirty-six years of the band, laid out in a smidge less than eight minutes. From flailing guitars to quieter, ambient passages; from solid riffs to a twelve bar, ragtime blues, and even some orchestration, this is The WIldhearts packed into a single serving.
Am I able to put aside any unconscious bias and assess this album critically? Nah, probably not!
I love The Wildhearts and The Satanic Rites of… is better than I expected. Even though I should have learned by now, I’m ready to get my heart broken again. Take it away, Ginger!
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