The world is a monumental dog dinner of negativity at the moment. But when Massive Wagons, the brightest light in British rock for years, unveils a new album, everything becomes bearable again. And all is rosy in the garden with the release of their latest opus, Earth To Grace.
Massive Wagons – Earth To Grace (Earache Records)
Release Date: 8 November 2024
Words: Brian Boyle
Every time Massive Wagons come into my mind, I always think of a night in Dublin in 2016 when they supported The Quireboys and blew them clean off the stage. But even during that balls-to-the-wall performance, it was hard not to notice the gathering of numpty’s propping up the bar, totally oblivious to the magic happening at the other end of the room.
Since that night, the Lancaster boys stock has continued to rise. UK Top Ten albums and opening arena shows for big noises Lynyrd Skynrd and Status Quo followed, putting the band into most classic and hard rock conversations. So those who chose to ignore that night are hopefully still peeling egg off their faces.
Cynics might say that a band who are seven albums in and have not yet achieved global domination might be flogging a dead horse. But if you know the heart and soul of this band, you will know commercial riches are not their sole motivation. To put it in cheesy terms, they just wanna rock ‘n’ roll like their lives depended on it and that has emanated in all their studio efforts so far.
Right off the bat, this album punches you square in the guts with the Metal-dripping assault of Sleep Forever, a tune a certain Mr Kilmister would not have turned his nose up to as it burns rubber relentlessly with a Motörhead engine.
Straight after, you are hit with a tidal wave of melodic brilliance with the hook drenched Missing On TV, a track I urge you to whack on straight away if you are after a virgin taste of what Massive Wagons are all about.
Free And Easy follows down the same path of sheer addictiveness, and I know you should not complain when a hat trick of absolute bangers hits you on the first spin, but these are so bloody good it is almost overwhelming.
But Massive Wagons do not have a mediocre bone in their body, mainly due to the fact they are impossible to pigeonhole into one definite genre. They can proudly present you with the slickly polished and American-friendly Night Skies and All We Got, sleaze it up with Cool Like A Fox, and bulldoze you through the wall with Underdog and Rabbit Hole.
I make no apologies if this review sounds like a monumental ass-licking session, but what you have got here is an album that plays out like a career-spanning greatest hits collection.
As expected, main man Baz Mills is in electrifying form, and it is no exaggeration to say in recent years, he has redesigned the template of the frontman. This bloke just has a remarkable knack for getting straight into your bloodstream the second he opens his gob.
His performance on the pop effervescence of Fun While It Lasted is so ridiculously infectious it should be prescribed on the NHS for its endorphin-releasing qualities.
With riffs, hooks and audacious melodies by the bucketload, Earth To Grace is out of sight from every other rock album released this year.
It is not too long ago that these boys were driving trucks and rewiring houses, and their working-class attitude is a massive part of their broad appeal. They are as real as they come, with not a bit of fake tan anywhere.
The wagons are rollin’ and making rock great again.
Massive Wagons enter their fifteenth year as a band with more fire behind them than ever. A 9-date headline tour across the UK and Ireland with special guests Florence Black will see them headline their biggest venues to date.
Tickets are available from here. You can find more from Massive Wagons at the Earache Records website.
