{"id":47710,"date":"2015-01-12T22:03:01","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T03:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47710"},"modified":"2015-01-12T22:03:01","modified_gmt":"2015-01-13T03:03:01","slug":"age-sten-nilsens-ammunition-shanghaied-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/age-sten-nilsens-ammunition-shanghaied-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Age Sten Nilsen\u2019s Ammunition | Shanghaied<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"AMMUNITION_Shanghaied\"If you were a young glam metal fan living in Europe in mid 2000s and not quite satisfied only with watching faded music videos from the \u201880s, sometime between 2005 and 2007 there were two groups that really counted for you. On the more rebellious side of things, there was Cr\u00e4shdiet, an early, Dave Lepard-fronted incarnation of the Swedish band. More \u2018mainstream,\u2019 but still \u2018cool\u2019 were the representatives of the neighboring country Norway named Wig Wam. Fast forward to 2014 \u2013 that\u2019s when the latter group disbands after releasing four studio albums, Wig Wam members embarking on solo careers. \u2018Teeny,\u2019 the guitarist Trond Holter, thus shifted to conceptual collaborations with Jorn Lande himself. Also \u2018Glam\u2019 \u2013 Wig Wam\u2019s frontman Age Sten Nilsen \u2013 joined forces with the cream of hard rock, from W.E.T and Eclipse\u2019s Erik M\u00e5rtensson to the likes of Hal Patino (King Diamond, Pretty Maids, Nordic Beast) or Robban B\u00e4c (Sabaton, Eclipse). Together, they formed Ammunition \u2013 or Age Sten Nilsen\u2019s Ammunition, as it\u2019s sometimes dubbed \u2013 and the result of their collaborative work is an album titled Shanghaied<\/em>, released via AOR Heaven in late January 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilverblack\u201d, the opening track of the Shanghaied album, clearly testifies Ammunition is simply another logical step on the musical path Age Sten Nilsen treads. It doesn\u2019t fall far from what was the trademark sound of Wig Wam, yet is stripped of the glam rock-tinted panache so characteristic to the collective efforts of the Norwegian group. It\u2019s a bit rougher than Wig Wam, especially their early albums, and slightly updated but still laden with fine melodies. Ammunition draws as much from Nilsen\u2019s mother group as from his 2009 solo effort GLAMunition<\/em>, and the results are \u2013 so to speak \u2013 interesting.<\/p>\n

Opened with a powerful group chant, the aforementioned \u201cSilverblack\u201d is thus Wig Wam-ish to the utmost, a modern-sounding melodic rock piece that juxtaposes relatively heavy guitars with almost poppy, infectious hooks. \u201cGive Me A Sign\u201d continues in a similar manner, a contemporary wall-of-sound rock sound complemented with a fine melody and massive backgrounds. \u201cShanghaied\u201d has some tongue-in-cheek flavors to it especially lyric-wise, which somewhat corresponds with the style utilized by Nilsen while performing under the moniker of Glam. Next is \u201cTie Me Down\u201d that develops into yet another kicker \u2013 especially its galloping guitar-laden finale fueled even more with surprisingly rough vocals. There is some rootsy, bluesy festiveness to both tracks, different from the usually polished sound typical to the genre.<\/p>\n

The unwritten rule of melodic hard rock is to have at least one power ballad per album, and Wig Wam as well as Nilsen\u2019s solo effort GLAMunition<\/em> were no exception to it. Here Nilsen\u2019s Ammuniton invades the ballad-esque territory with \u201cThe Road To Babylon,\u201d embroidered with soaring vocals and wistful melody. Next is the hard rock stampede with a certain live vibe as well as tints of blues and country to it \u2013 \u201cTake Out The Enemies\u201d that is full of raw, untrammeled energy. \u201cHit Me (With Your Bombs)\u201d is a modern rocker with rich lead guitar work and well-crafted choruses, followed by \u201cDo You Like It\u201d, a groovy track that shifts a listener\u2019s focus to the rich, pounding sounds of the rhythm section. \u201cWild Card\u201d is way more about hook and melody that the heaviness of sound, showing perhaps a softer side to the band, while \u201cAnother Piece Of Me\u201d is again on feistier side of things. \u201cHeart\u2019s Not In It\u201d is another ballad sandwiched between the guitar-laden rockers, a charming, slow piece full of panache and melodic vocals, with its follow-up \u201cStrung Out\u201d making a catchy, straight-in-your-face final to the entire material.<\/p>\n

It has to be admitted one hardly resists from finding parallels between Nilsen\u2019s earlier work (in Wig Wam and beyond) and Ammunition. Yet, comparing Shanghaied<\/em> to Wig Wamania<\/em> or GLAMunition<\/em> is perhaps a bit unfair as there\u2019s a whole new quality that comes with the current album of the Norwegian singer\u2019s new outfit. It\u2019s taking what\u2019s best from Wig Wam and solo output and taking it to a whole new level \u2013 with more straightforward, less polished sound and more diverse musical flavors and tints. And, essentially, a collection of twelve well-written and well-performed songs that show many different dimensions of melodic hard rock. It doesn\u2019t take to be a Wig Wam fan to find the album a worthy addition to your record collection \u2013 if you\u2019re into rich guitar work, hooks and melody, you\u2019ll find something for yourself on it anyway. Much recommended. <\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock <\/p>\n

Band:
\nAge Sten Nilsen \u2013 vocals
\nHal Patino \u2013 bass
\nRobban B\u00e4ck \u2013 drums
\nErik M\u00e5rtensson \u2013 guitars
\nLasse Finbr\u00e5then \u2013 keyboards
\nJon Pettersen – guitars<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tSilverblack
\n2.\tGive Me A Sign
\n3.\tShanghaied
\n4.\tTie Me Down
\n5.\tRoad To Babylon
\n6.\tTake Out The Enemies
\n7.\tHit Me (With Your Bombs)
\n8.\tDo You Like It
\n9.\tWild Card
\n10.\tAnother Piece Of Me
\n11.\tHeart\u2019s Not In It
\n12.\tStrung Out<\/p>\n

Label: AOR Heaven<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Ammunition\/1404489566506923<\/a> – http:\/\/www.agestennilsen.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — If you were a young glam metal fan living in Europe in mid 2000s and not quite satisfied only with watching faded music videos from the \u201880s, sometime […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[10532,10533,9075,2317,10535,10536,2847,10537,10534],"class_list":{"0":"post-47710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-age-sten-nilsen","9":"tag-ammunition","10":"tag-aor-heaven","11":"tag-cd-review","12":"tag-erik-martensson","13":"tag-hal-patino","14":"tag-melodic-hard-rock","15":"tag-robban-bac","16":"tag-shanghaied"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}