After The Rain

Wickman Road

I have to say it's not a good sign when your band is on a […]
By Johnny Jackal
December 18, 2016
Wickman Road - After The Rain album cover

I have to say it's not a good sign when your band is on a record label called Adult Oriented Rock Heaven. It's pretty much a testament to things to come. I have to admit I am not a fan of Melodic Rock, even less anything related to Adult Oriented Rock unfortunately. This is the debut album from the brothers Akesson after 2 years of hard rock and finding their groove. They wanted to wait until they had every good element and some good chemistry, which happened when they added Simon Ryden in the latter part of 2014.

The album benefits from a very solid production. They took their time to do one hell of a hell job. That is one of the great points of this album. I can deal with something that sounds great even though the overall quality of the band might not be something I overly enjoy nonetheless. According to a lot of stuff I read about the band is that there is an overflow of bands in the Melodic Rock genre in Sweden, especially in the last few years. They do have time to grow though being they are such a young band. I felt there wasn't a lot of diversity in the album, a lot of songs sounded the same and the ''All Alone'' ballad was just a waste of time in my opinion. I felt it just fell flat and was boring and uninteresting. The album started with two subpar songs and then finally the third song got things going. ''I Believe in You'' was a shining light in a album that had songs that were very interchangeable.

The best song by far is ''Time''. It's a closer and at least it ends on a high note. It's one of the longest songs of the album and the most enjoyable. I felt finally they did something more original and it outclassed most of the stuff on this album. I know I have been rough on the band but something I enjoyed was the lyrical content. I felt these guys were much more mature than their young age. They talk about hardship, the long road that is life and the trials and tribulations of people in our time and age. Even though some of the songs are ballads, the lyrics are actually not too cheesy and they show some real promise. Is it my cup of tea? Not really but if they can be a bit more original, there might be a nice future for these guys.

6 / 10

Had Potential

Songwriting

7

Musicianship

5

Memorability

5

Production

8
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"After The Rain" Track-listing:

1. After the Rain
2. Breaking Free
3. I Believe in You
4. I Can't Wait Anymore
5. All Alone
6. Couldn't Find the Way
7. Home
8. No Matter the Distance
9. In a Minute
10. Now When You're Gone
11. Time

Wickman Road Lineup:

Eric Ahlqvist - Vocals
Henrik Åkesson - Guitar
Robert Åkesson - Bass
Carl Ahlqvist - Keyboards
Simon Rydén - Drums

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