The British rockers Massive Wagons’ sixth record Triggered! (Earache Records) is another dose of their tried and tested, anthemic classic rock. It is still laced with humour, big riffs and abundant hooks but more raucous. Alongside The Darkness and Slade influences of their last record, the top ten House of Noise, are heavier moments, a touch of soft rock and a bit of reggae.

The family friendly ‘Fuck The Haters’ starts things off in emphatic style, it is a catchy slice of rock about doing what you will and screwing the critics, with cavernous drums and a peach of a chorus. This whirlwind is over in under 3 minutes and gets the blood pumping, as does the crunchy, Darkness-esque ‘A.S.S.H.O.L.E’ – with a chant along chorus that I’m sure will whip up crowds. The most infectious track is definitely ‘Skateboard’, an immensely hummable ditty with a snappy, pop-punk like beat.

 

The punchy title-track is about people who moan and grumble about every facet of modern life, with a delightfully riffy breakdown leading to a stomping solo. ‘Giulia’ is a bouncy little nugget of punk listing the things they’d rather do than give someone their time – including spraying bleach in their eyes and shoving wasps up their arse. The reggae comes in ‘Generation Prime’, a pacey number with a belter of a chorus featuring Benji Webbe of Skindred fame on vocals. It might not sound like it on paper but Massive Wagons’ brand of rock and reggae fuse really well and is one of the highlights.

At thirteen tracks in forty-six minutes, there is a lot of bang for your buck and a few tracks aside – the run of the mill ‘Never Been a Problem’ – it has a remarkable hit rate. The heavier moments come at the end, with the galloping metal of ‘Sawdust’ and its harmonious solo really blowing away the cobwebs.

 

Massive Wagons have done it again, produced a great album full of big riffs, hooks and humour – just a bit more raucous and rowdy this time.

Buy the album here: https://webstore.earache.com/A-Z/m/massive-wagons

8 / 10

THOMAS THROWER