Album Review: Wicked Smile – Wait For The Night

Wicked Smile: Wait For The Night

– By Rob Jones –

They say you have your whole life to write your first album, Or your whole life up to that point at least. So if that’s true then there’s no reason you shouldn’t swing for the fences and knock it out of the park, Which is exactly what Wicked Smile has done on their debut album Wait For The Night. Musically these guys fall somewhere between classic bands like Iron Maiden and Skid Row and modern bands like Hardcore Superstar and Temple Balls, None of those incredible bands sound alike and so that goes to show the diverse elements at play here.

The album starts out with “Date With The Devil” with some real driving riffs and a blistering guitar solo leaning more into the Skid Row side of things before going heavily into Iron Maiden territory on the title track, “We Fall” has crushing rhythms with infectious solos which really bring me back to the heavier direction the 80s bands went during the early to mid-90s. “Sign Of The Times” has an incredible fusion of black sabbath’s low-end riffs with that Iron Maiden influence soaring above it, “Daze Of Delirium” is the clear single here and is where wicked smile show their more modern hard rock elements, this infectious song will be stuck in your head for the next week after you hear it. “Killer At Large” keeps the momentum of the prior song going and “Last Goodbye” is where I get slight Hardcore Superstar meets Iron Maiden vibes, A great fusion of classic and modern which really could sum up this album.

“Love’s Got A Hold On You” brings it back to a somewhat Quiet Riot sound, One thing I haven’t spoken about yet is just how incredible of a vocalist Danny Cecati is, and after he’s spent the majority of the album rocking your socks off it’s his powerful performance in the gorgeous ballad “Don’t Wait For Me” that towers above it all, seriously goosebumps-inducing singing driving some very heart-wrenching lyrics home. The album ends on “Stronger” another excellent rocker. The mixture of hard rock and power metal on this album is incredible and every person in this band plays at the top of their game and I mean insanely good! You really need to hear this band, Their album can be purchased through Cargo Records website.