Wonrowe Vision - Mission Invincible (Silver Bullet) 2010

Wonrowe Vision is a side project of Mortification bassist Steve Rowe and ex-Mortification guitarist Lincoln Bowen, along with drummer Andrew Esnouf. As might be suspected, the power trio purposely steers clear of the standard Morty death metal and thrash metal formulas and attempts to create something that is far outside the boundaries set by that band. What they end up with is a slab of guitar and bass driven rock and roll with a heavy 80's punk edge. Comparisons to early Motörhead are not completely far fetched. However, despite the comparison and the fact that this band doesn't sound like Mortification, this still very much sounds like Steve Rowe. His raspy, voice, his bass playing and his style of songwriting is immediately recognizable.

"Spirit of the Rock" is a simple, hooky, biker song that possesses a raw charm. "Vaporizer", "The White Rock" and "Smile Your way Through Life" bring forth the Motörhead comparisons. It's that mixture of classic rock, heavy metal and punk that give Motörhead their sound and what also drives Wonrowe Vision's sound. "The White Rock" also has a bit of The Ramones mixed in as well. "Run in Circles" is an acoustic ballad that has Steve Rowe talking out the lyrics, much like Lemmy might. The vocal technique and the music on this particular track are actually an odd pairing. "Wreath The Passion Of My Fire" is an odd track as well with a bit of jazzy sound and features whistling as a main part of the song. While it is definitely odd, I also found this song to be one of the most compelling and interesting. It definitely strays far from anything that Steve would have done under the Mortification banner. "Smile Your Way Through Life" made me smile as it's such a autobiographical song about Steve Rowe. All through his career, whether playing death metal or thrash metal or whatever, Steve has always been one to smile and enjoy himself when performing and even when posing for promo photos. Many have actually criticized Steve for this, which I found a bit odd. As such, the song made me smile, just knowing the man behind the lyrics.

Unfortunately the production leaves a lot to be desired. The sound is very compressed and narrow, almost sound like it is being played out of an old single speaker transistor radio. Perhaps this was exactly the sound the band was going for. Production usually isn't a big concern for punk bands and early Motorhead was similarly narrow. Probably the biggest disappointment in the mix, however, is that the drums are mixed way behind the bass, vocals and guitars. I kept cranking this album up in my car trying to make it sound like what I really wanted to hear, but the drums just aren't there like I would have liked.

For a limited time the album also comes with a DVD of two of the bands concerts; one at a skate park and the other in a club setting. The DVD is professionally edited, though is shot from what appears to be a single camera.