Michigan has been a hotbed of heavy music since heavy music came into being. From the raw power of The Stooges and MC5, and bonehead thud of Grand Funk Railroad and The Amboy Dukes, to the molten metal attack of Halloween and Seduce, and pioneering grind of Repulsion, their contributions to the world of hard and heavy music cannot be stressed enough. Let’s also not forget publications like Sledgehammer Press and events like the iconic Michigan Death-Fest, the latter of which became one of the most revered fests of its era. I could go on for days about this state’s metal cred, dating back to before Black Sabbath’s debut even hit record store shelves, but instead will go on about a most recent phenomenon, and that is the new Wrong Way Rockers compilation.
Assembled and released by the Michigan metal maniacs at Dystopian Dogs Productions, Wrong Way Rockers features 12 exclusive songs that run the gamut of hard rock, heavy metal, punk, and beyond. In this respect, it almost plays like an old Metal Massacre comp, highlighting some of our old favorites (i.e. Sauron, Acid Witch), while simultaneously turning us onto bands that, prior to getting our grubby paws on a copy, we weren’t previously aware of (i.e. Jail, Low Magic). There’s a little something for everyone, and if you don’t walk away satisfied by at least one cut, you ain’t no true headbanger!
Side A wastes no time heading straight to the races, opening things up with a progressive slab of instru-metal entitled “To Shatter What Binds”, courtesy of the late, great Dungeon Beast. We’ve also got blackened thrashers Sauron pivoting towards a blackened heavy metal sound in the vein of Mercyful Fate (“Infernal Sword”), Low Magic working their lo-fi techno metal sorcery (“Sinister Barrier”), a proper black-thrash onslaught from Seidhr (“Hellthrashing Death Brigade”), and Acid Witch’s devilish death-doom homage to Margaret Hamilton (“You’re Melting”). My favorite of the bunch, however, is Locust Point’s “City Sharks”: A rip-roaring motörcharged bruiser that’s bound to give a swift kick in the ass of all who have the fortune of hearing it.
Side B is equally as enthralling. Nuke and Jail getting things off to an anarchistic start, each showcasing their own unique brand of metalpunk. Between the two, it’s Jail who catches my ear, coming off like early Destruction with a crossover twist. Cruthu’s “Set Fire to the Dawn” injects some Sabbathian doom onto this already stacked comp, while Anguish’s “Celephaïs” sounds caught somewhere between Motörhead and Thin Lizzy. Either way, this ‘eavy rocker sounds straight out of ’77, wild guitar solos and all. Prelude to Ruin (or is it Ruiz?) juxtapose arena metal melodies with Manilla Road-esque weirdness on “Take It Away”, before Time Gambler’s “Stalemate” brings this high voltage platter to a Witchfinder General-tinged doom rockin’ close.
Folks, if these bands are rocking the “wrong” way, I don’t wanna know what right is! Sure, there are some songs that stick more than others, but there isn’t a dud to be found on this comp. Part of that can be chalked up to stringent quality control on Dystopian Dogs’ behalf, but I think it speaks more largely to just how vibrant Michigan’s heavy music scene remains nearly 60 years on. A lot has changed since a young Iggy Pop terrorized those mean streets of Detroit, but the “take no prisoners” attitude that runs in the blood of all Michiganians? That has not. Wrong Way Rockers is a testament to this, and I can only hope for a “volume 2” in the near future!
7 out of 10
Label: Dystopian Dogs Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Motörhead, Venom, Thin Lizzy
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