photo courtesy of BJF Media

Album Review of Burnt Out Wreck: Stand and Fight

Burnt Out Wreck delivers guitar-driven, powerful melodic hard rock reminiscent of Judas Priest and AC/DC, particularly those bands’ more melodic offerings. Any ’80s-style hard rock fan is gonna love this disc. And the band gets bonus points for its ’80s “pedigree” – frontman Gary Moat was the drummer in ’80s rock band Heavy Pettin. Though not an arena-filling headliner back in the ’80s, at least not in the U.S., Heavy Pettin was a band we were all aware of and respected. Beyond ’80s rockers, others who may enjoy this album (and this band) are those who dig catchy songs and crunchy guitars.

Stand and Fight kicks off with a chunky classic rock guitar riff on repeat, joined soon thereafter by Moat’s gravelly hard rock vocals and a steady, forceful rhythm section, launching into fun album opener “Big Up Yourself,” setting the stage for the rest of this top-shelf “new classic” hard rock disc. The songs have a familiar, comfortable style, performed with the enthusiasm and attention to detail that will make this recording a worthwhile addition to your collection (and your album rotation).

image courtesy of BJF Media

There are a couple songs that’ll have you singing along rather embarrassingly, and hooky title track “Stand and Fight” is the first of them. Steady verses are laced with persistently insistent guitarwork that ratchets up tension, leading into the song’s chorus with its fun, oft-repeated lyric – one you’ll unconsciously sing before realizing it; then you’ll look around hoping no one heard you sing “Stand and fight, just kick ’em in the balls…” There’s some cool axework in here, too, with solos serving as apt bridges, that’ll make this one of your favorite songs. Just be cautious about when and where you listen to it in public.

From first song to last, the album is all relatively straightforward – and unflinchingly straight-line – melodic hard rock, but various rhythms and guitar hooks keep things fresh. A three-song sequence early in the disc is a good example of the song-to-song variance: “Lion” sports a more sidewinding rhythm and limits backing instrumentation during some of the verses; “Ain’t Done Nothing Wrong” begins with a bit of an echo that suggests open spaces before launching into its distinct rhythm guitar riffs that vary consistently throughout the song; and “More Than Anything” utilizes a slightly faster pace to set itself apart.

You’ll have your own favorites on this disc. Mine are the first two tracks, “Big Up Yourself” and “Stand and Fight,” and disc-ender “I’m a Loser Too,” and not just because it’s embarrassing to be heard singing along to the title lyric, which I guarantee you won’t be able to stop yourself from doing. There’s an almost country twanginess mixed in with more obviously bluesy rock guitarwork than found elsewhere on the album. It stands out in part because of its stylistic difference, but it’ll also draw you in with its fun lyrics (such as, “I’m in a bar drinkin’ whiskey, she’s kind of cute for her age…”) and its end-of-the-night, the-bar-is-closing vibe. Yeah, the album’s over, and you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Or you can just stay where you are and replay the album from the beginning again. It’s a great new classic rock record and a heckuva fun listen from beginning to end.

Looking Back

This is the third Burnt Out Wreck album I’ve reviewed at the Blog. Be sure to check out my 2017 review of Swallow or my 2020 review of This Is Hell for more Burnt Out Wreck content. In fact, one reason this review is comparatively short is because I’ve already written two previous reviews and am beginning to run out of adjectives to describe the band’s sound; I’ve said it all before. If you’re a classic hard rock fan, particularly of ’80s-style melodic hard rock, and especially of the bands in that category with crunch and bite to their music, then you owe it to yourself to have Burnt Out Wreck’s albums in your collection.

Looking Ahead

The “Events” tab of Burnt Out Wreck’s Facebook page lists a couple of upcoming shows in the UK: Saturday, November 18th at The Yorkshireman Rock Bar in Sheffield and a June 14, 2024 show at Axminster Guild Hall in Axminster. Burnt Out Wreck is also scheduled to appear at the Highway to Hellfest in Glasgow, Scotland in February 2024. And watch Burnt Out Wreck’s social media feeds for more dates as they’re added. For example, the band’s Twitter feed also mentions an early November appearance at Hard Rock Hell.