Review Summary: A Wilhelm Scream records themselves and prove that they are a band who continues to grow and the new guy Mike Supina contributes to this growth. Though the band sometimes wears their influences on their sleeves they continue to push forward the genre.
With their new self titled ep A Wilhelm Scream showcase their new lineup and any concerns about new guitarist Mike Supina are washed away. The former Alucard guitarist can definitely shred and he fits right in without just copying the style of Christopher Levesque, as a matter of fact this ep has the Scream once again exploring new songwriting territory.
The opener "Australias" immediately let the listener know that the band is not going to rust on it's past successes. While showing off their chops "Australias" is also one of their most catchy and melodic songs. Nuno does an excellent job carrying the song and his rasp has never sounded more melodic and versatile. The three part harmonies have again been toned down for this ep and again it seems for the best.
"Every Great Story Has a Shower Scene" keeps the ep going strong. Though not as fast as past albums these songs have a real organic energy to them.
"Fun Time" shows that the band can still slow it down when they want. The problem is that the slower pace of the song and the repetitive lyrics seem to detract from the overall experience. Maybe it would have fit in better on a full length, but it just feels out of place on this 5 song ep.
"Bulletproof Tiger" gets the ep right back on track. This is in my opinion one of the best songs the Scream have ever written. Nuno brings the song up an emotional notch with his excellent singing in the last chorus. When he sings "but you won't break me down/you won't put out the fire" you can really feel it.
The ep ends with "Skid Rock" which demonstrates all there is to love about the band. This song shows off everyone's abilities and ends the ep on a high note.
Overall this is a solid release from A Wilhelm Scream. Solid musicianship once again meets intelligent song writing and shows a band that continues to grow. Even in the lyric department Trevor Reilly manages to only use the F word once which may seem minor, but it really helps the songs feel more mature without losing that punk rock edge. The production may sound thin as they recorded this themselves at their own Black and Blue studio in New Bedford instead of getting the Blasting Room treatment.
This ep is a must have for all fans and for newcomers, they just keep getting better you might as well start here.
