Germans WICKED SENSATION have been releasing quality hard rock with melody for over two-and-a-half decades now. Their brand of European Melodic Hard Rock is focused on muscular riffs, driving melodies and catchy choruses with tons of harmony vocals.
There’s a curious thing with WICKED SENSATION: they maintained the same line up, but changed lead vocalist for each of their albums except the last two, including the recent 2021’s ‘Outbreak’ with capable David Reece at the mic. Instead of a detriment in the band’s sound, switching vocalists has given WICKED SENSATION albums a welcomed variation.
In the case of this request, WICKED SENSATION 2004’s second LP “Exceptional“, we find the great Fernando Garcia (ex- Victory) providing superb vocal melodies, which works awesomely with the other members backings. Mixed by talented Dennis Ward, for many Melodic / Hard fans, “Exceptional” is WICKED SENSATION’s finest moment, on par with JADED HEART albums from the same era.
Long time out of print, with WICKED SENSATION being signed by Rock Of Angels Records a few years ago, the album has been reissued and available again. If you never heard WICKED SENSATION, “Exceptional” is indeed an exceptional place to start.
The band, formed in 1999, is comprised of Michael Klein (guitars and primary songwriter), Sang Vong (guitars and songwriter), Martin Mannhardt (bass), Bjorn Gref (percussion), and Bernd Spitzner (keyboards). Musically, the band is solid and tight, and everyone delivers good performances.
Garcia’s voice is a cross between Marc Storace and Steve Perry. He’s got that Storace brashness, but his delivery is “smoothed” over a bit, a la Perry, and similar to Perry, Garcia has great ability to hit the high notes in effortless fashion, coming across neither unnecessarily piercing nor misconstrued.
When talent such as this is coupled with well-written lyrics and catchy patterns, you have a solid foundation for song success … and that’s exactly what happens in ”Exceptional”.
Ward (Pink Cream 69) handled Wicked Sensation’s final sound mix, and his influence on the CD’s bass orientated emphasis is apparent. Much of the treble tones of the band’s music end up getting sanded down a bit, but the sound is still enjoyable and very pleasing and consistent to listen to.
There aren’t many extended musical jams on ”Exceptional”, instead Wicked Sensation’s song style is heavily lyrics driven, but that’s absolutely fine with me, because Garcia’s vocals and lyrical patterns are without a doubt their strength. In the end, it makes all the sense in the world for a musical group to focus on and highlight that which they do best – and clearly Wicked Sensation can develop and deliver lyrics better than most bands around today.
The CD starts out with “Intro,” which is, as you may have guessed, an introduction leading into the second (and one of the best) track, “Shining Light.” “Intro” has some cool machine morphing/spaceship landing sound effects that end in a speaker-shattering explosion before “Shining Light” kicks off. “Shining Light” has plenty of energy and quickly establishes Garcia’s talents and Klein’s/Vong’s songwriting abilities. These two tracks as a one-two punch are, well, an “exceptional” beginning to Exceptional (pun intended!), and this song has “top 40 hit potential” written all over it.
Next up is “Back To My Bed,” which comes through at a more methodical pace and has a pretty unusual chorus line that Garcia pulls off brilliantly. The band reloads its energy with “We Arise.” This song features a Cinderella-ish opening guitar riff (similar to the Long Cold Winter era) that rocks!
“Your Beat Inside My Heart” starts out with a piano lead-in and the quasi-cheesy, over-emotionally sung lyrics, “Your beat inside my heart,” which first made me think this song was really going to suck. After this shaky beginning, however, Wicked Sensation completely shifts gears, picks up the pace significantly, and delivers a song that does everything BUT suck.
Up seventh is the punchy, stadium-sized title track that, call me crazy, somehow reminds me of KISS circa ‘Revenge, followed by “Kiss It Away,” and both build the album’s momentum. “Dying With The Wind” is a midtempo rock song that has an ironic uplifting feel to it … especially considering the implied message that can be derived from the song’s title.
The next song, “Time Will Pass Me By,” features the best solo of the lot, while track #11, “My Own Misery,” is the heaviest on the CD. The album ends much like it began with the driving, catchy melodic hard rocker “Rain on Me.” This is good enough to be a top 40 hit if given the chance!
With a polished song structure, skilled musicianship, fine lyrics, and stellar vocal delivery, you owe it to yourself to check out this Wicked Sensation release sooner rather than later.
Highly Recommended
1. Intro
2. Shining Light
3. Back To My Bed
4. We Arise
5. Your Beat Inside My Heart
6. The One You Love Ain`t Me
7. Exceptional
8. Kiss It Away
9. Dying With The Wind
10. Time Will Pass Me By
11. My Own Misery
12. Rain On Me
Fernando Garcia – Vocals
Michael Klein – Guitars
Sang Vong – Guitars
Martin Mannhardt – Bass
Bjorn Gref – Drums
Bernd Spitzner – Keyboards