Considered - rightly - as one of the most enjoyable craftsmen of the German hard rock revival, Wucan finally has only one defect: its too weak discographic output. This is a shame for a band that was born in the glorious 70's and whose metronomic creativity inspired at least one album per year, if not two!
The Dresden quartet had not given any sign of life for five years and a great "Reap The Storm". Five years is a long time, especially for a young band that one can imagine is overflowing with a sap that is just waiting to be exploited. And there are many admirers of Francis Tobolsky, singer and flautist who combines charm and power, a frontwoman halfway between Candy Givens (Zephyr) for her high-pitched rage and Alia O'Brien (Blood Ceremony) for her use of a Jethro Thull-Like flute.
Fortunately, concerts and singles spread over the last few months have reminded us that the germans have not fallen asleep. "Heretic Tongues", their third effort, is finally here. Its menu confirms that its authors remain faithful to an architecture that is both rather compact (seven tracks) but that ends by a very long conclusion.
However, there is no lack of surprises within a whole as efficient as shimmering, fiery and more direct than its predecessor. 'Far And Beyond' is one of them, a surprising fusion between hard rock and disco music for a jubilant result. By continuing the pleasure in a more rhythmic register with 'Far And Beyond (Until We Meet Again)', Wucan gives birth to a devastating and hypnotic diptych, but above all furiously audacious. These disco reminiscences are also present in the final 'Physical Boundaries', a sonic journey with multiple layers and influences.
If the enormous 'Kill The King' launches the listening in a classic, catchy way, the flute confers to it an always so particular, rural and poetic aroma, 'Fette Deutsche' surprises by its hardness of line. Curious and also marked by an identical roughness, 'Zwischen Liebe Und Zorn' is a strange title in its coloring at the same time folkloric and heavy. Wrapped in a warm and organic sound that underlines the roundness of an enveloping rhythmic, all the compositions turn out to be jewels of writing and progression, full of a thousand melodic and emotional treasures that arise from a velvety organ, a bucolic flute and fiery female vocals.
"Heretic Tongues" definitely puts Wucan at the top of vintage hard rock, which he renews with a furious inspiration and haunting disco touches.