“This is our heavy album” says vocalist/guitarist James Lascelles within the press release for Wheel’s Charismatic Leaders and y’know what? He’s not wrong. With songs on here gestating in some cases since 2020, the music is easily some of the Helsinki trio’s finest and, yes, heaviest to date. Maybe it’s from that period of time that they’ve grown into the beasts you’ll soon hear or perhaps that when the recording took place it was done by none other than Daniel Bergstrand and Fredrik Thordendal, the former of which has produced such classics from the likes of Soilwork, In Flames, and Meshuggah while the latter? Well, he’s the lead guitarist of that last mentioned band.
When we talk “heavy”, though, we’re not necessarily saying that Wheel has shed their modern Prog with Tool leanings completely in favor of the chugga chugga riff factory that Meshuggah can be. It’s more an overall feel and this rage against the machine concept that loosely ties the new record together. Opener “Empire” is definitely a killer beastie with an ominous rumble from drummer Santeri Saksala with matching bass tones but then “Porcelain” ventures into familiar territory for the band for the first of some certifiably epic tracks found within Charismatic Leaders as vocals from Lascelles soar.
Then “Submission” swoops in next and at the mention of the word “epic” is a all “Hold my beer…” with a pummeling almost eleven minutes of punctuated and pronounced pluckings and poundings that get more intricate the deeper in it goes. Okay, scratch that on the non-“chugga chugga” sound because despite all the dynamic sounds created throughout “Saboteur”, fans really get the full force of Jussi Turnen and Lascelles’ axe work with this one that’s a sprawling nine minutes of solid chunky riffing from the pair of guitarists.
“Disciple” is downright symphonic to start with a swirling string section to start that gets caught up in a torrent of riffs and Saksala percussion that keeps spiraling round and round ascending into a higher plane of heaviness led by Lascelles’ glistening delivery with “Caught in the Afterglow” acting as a palette cleanser of instrumental atmosphere before the end comes. “The Freeze” is that flowing finale which brings an amalgamation of the Wheel sound together for one last big hurrah with long passages dwelling in different genres that, when merged together, create the most epic of all tracks.
Charismatic Leaders lands on May 3rd through Inside Out. Pre-orders are up now and can be perused and and/or purchased by heading here. For more from Wheel, including ALL the dates of when they’ll come near your town like when they hit Brighton Music Hall on May 8th, follow the trail of socials by clicking here, here, or here.