Open Wire – Silvertongue
Release Date: 30th August 2023
Sprinting into their 13th year as a band, American hard rockers Open Wire decided the best thing they could do was release another album. It has been 11 years since the release of their debut album, Naked Dreams, so it was probably due to be honest. What is Silvertongue bringing to the table though? Well, if you’ve been on the Open Wire train for the past decade or so then you’re going to be well aware already. If you’re waiting at the station with bated breath then what awaits you is pure, unadulterated hard rock. No compromising, no pissing about, just some mates having a good time playing some rock ‘n’ roll.
This much is evident right from the very first few seconds of the very first track. The opener and title track, ‘Silvertongue’, is said track and once the radio is tuned in a Pantera-esque riff truly kicks things off. Raw, classic metal style vocal follow and here we are, waist deep in the sort of filthy hard rock you normally have to go downstairs in your local dive bar to witness.
From here you can just settle in and enjoy the ride through eight of the rockiest of rock tracks that 2023 has seen released. ‘Wake’ and ‘Oleander Drive’ both bring differing vibes to the album with the former being more of a classic rock track that just goes a little harder than they used to back then. ‘Oleander Drive’ though feels like a bit of a calm before the storm that follows. It’s a bit softer, a bit slower and a bit more composed than those surrounding it in the running list, but still goes hard enough to not feel out of place.
Bringing the beginning of the middle to the starting line is ‘Just Dangerous’, a track that summons the soul of Motörhead, if not quite the heaviness. The guitars are set off rolling on this one and are pretty unrelenting for the next few minutes, something which is echoed in the following song, ‘Armed & Hammered’, though not to quite the same ferocious pace here. Here vocals are pushed to the limit and thankfully it sounds like the ‘hammered’ element of the track doesn’t mean the same as it does in the UK. ‘Devil May Care’ (the song not the series of games) is up next and brings it back to a more standard rock vibe for a lot of it, a slower intro for sure but still that underlying rocksteady power.
As Silvertongue starts to head towards its climax it’s ‘Winner’s Luck’ that picks us up for the journey. This track feels like the child of some of the most famous of 80s rock bands, but with the guitars just ramped up and the riffs just that bit chunkier. This continues through the closer too, with ‘Fishing Song’ just rounding off the album in what feels like a combination of all of the seven previous tracks, plus some lovely bass brought to the fore for the first time. Overall this is eight tracks of really strong heavy rock. The kind of album you put on loud and drink to!
You can pick up Silvertongue by Open Wire from their website here: www.openwirerocks.com