WONROWE VISION - PICTURES OF THE PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

Wonrowe Vision, in case you were unaware, is the brain child of Mortifications own Steve Rowe. However the musical statement of Vision is very different from Morty, where Morty wants to pound you into musical submission through various forms of extreme metal;  Wonrowe Vision is pure hard rock worship with a distinct late 70’s early 80’s flair.

Pictures of the Past Present and Future is the title of the latest release from Wonrowe Vision. Pictures is sort of an odd release. There are two new studio tracks, ten live tracks and three tracks from several Lightforce demos and a Mortification version of one of the Lightforce songs.

I’m kinda confused as to what this album is supposed be, is it a live album? or a new Wonrowe Vision album? A small issue I suppose but when I hear there is a NEW Wonrowe Album I guess I’m hoping for NEW stuff.  Perhaps a couple of live tracks as a bonus are added to the end, know what I mean.

The two new studio cuts That’s Total Evil and Pictures are both good cuts, That’s Total Evil is the better of two musically. The vibe sorta reminds me of early Motorhead and The Ramones but a super catchy chorus, even though I found the verses a bit heavy handed. I've found myself hitting the replay button on IPod and CD player A LOT with this song. Pictures is a bit more poppy and as it turns out it’s an old Lightforce song.

The next ten tracks are taken from a live performance at the Metal Bible Launch on December 20^th, 2012.  Unfortunately the first two tracks are the same tracks that opened the album. Of the ten tunes seven appeared on the previous album, Mission Invincible. I’ve heard a few folks mention that they preferred the live versions to the original studio versions due to production issues. For myself that has never been an issue, except in a few extreme cases and that wasn’t one of them. The live tracks sound good and except for a few vocal glitches (barely noticeable) this versions are top notch.

The Spirit of the Rock, Vaporizer, Smile Your Way Through Life are great tunes and they shine here. 

The last four songs make up the demo material of early Lightforce with one Mortification version of 12 Men. This makes a nice novelty but I really would’ve liked maybe two more new songs instead. Four new tracks and a live recording would’ve been cool. The live jam during Smile Your Way Through Life was very nice.

Wonrowe Vision is a band I enjoy. Album opener That’s Total Evil is worth the price of the album, but perhaps some other new tracks could’ve been added. The lack of new stuff was a bit disappointing. I enjoyed this release but I’m only gonna give this a 6 axe review because for a second release new music should be paramount.

6 axes