Ward 10: Curing Those Who Are Normal (2007)

Over the last year I have become friends with the reprobate Ant Ward (Just One Fix) and his lovely long-suffering wife Gaylene, and when I was writing the press release for their new album (check out Bleeding Afterglow) we started talking about Ward 10 and I said I had never heard the album. A short while later and a physical copy arrived in the mail, and I was able to revel in a release which came out back in 2007. Looking at it from 15 years on it looks wonderfully dated, with each bandmember providing their MySpace address! With the hidden track (those were the days), this album is nearly 56 minutes in length and while each song is quite different, the concept behind this is to play it as one long song and it has been tracked so there are no gaps.

Joining Ant (vocals, bass, cello) are guitarists Matt Sivess and Dave ‘Duct Tape’ Martens, and I note that the guitars and vocals were recorded by none other than Sam Sheppard (8 Foot Sativa and currently fronting the mighty Imperial Slave) with all drums being programmed. Having heard the new Bleeding Afterglow album, it is now obvious that in many ways that is a direct follow-on from this one, albeit with less instrumentation (and no bass!). Ant has a distinct style which would be easy to say is heavily influenced by W.A.S.P. and leave it at that, but there is far more going on and this is no knock off. One may think from the album cover, artwork, and the inclusion of Ant as Gimpy that this is a death metal release but instead this is a metal album which has melody and brutality at its core and then moves off in different directions. The result is something which may look dated but is still relevant and downright enjoyable, as one is never sure where it is going next except it will always be heavy as hell. I know if Ant decided the time was right for a reunion, then I would be at the front of the line to see them. Their live shows were a blast and had such an impact on Gaylene that when Ant asked her to marry him at one of them, she agreed!

This is still available both digitally and physically through Bandcamp, is a fun romp throughout, and is definitely one for metalheads to dig out.

Rating: 7/10