Wind Oz: Feed Back (1994)

French band WIND OZ was a five man strong ensemble that was an active unit back in the early 1990's. There's hardly any information about them at all, and I presume that the EP "Feed Back" from 1994 was their only release.

This production consist of four tracks, which see the band explore material of a kind and style that will sound familiar to fans of so-called hair metal. Melodic lead vocals soar on top, and the dampened instrumentation underscoring consist of dampened riffs and subtle dramatic keyboard motifs in tight interaction, and while both instruments gets the chance to wander in the instrumental passages it's the guitar that is most prominently utilized for that role. Tight and steady bass and drums caters for drive and rhythm.

At their best this band is a pleasant experience too. Opening track Just For You a pleasant melodic AOR tune that should please fans of acts like Autograph and Dokken, and second track Bizarre Car sports a high quality anthemic chorus that deserves a better destiny than to be a part of the slightly awkward construction the band have chosen to use it in - a killer 3 and half minute long song that for some reason or another has been elongated with two instances of audience noises and a separate instrumental outro. As a hidden track experience to boot. The remaining pieces Dark Wild Night and Heaven's Door appear to be more typical and clichéd fare though. Fans of this type of music will most likely find them to be pleasant, but outside of that crowd I don't think these will have much appeal.

If you really like late 80's and early 90's AOR and hair metal, Wind Oz sole EP is worth seeking out, if for no other reason than to check out the opening two tracks. It's not a production that warrants spending an obscene amount of money to get hold of, but if priced as a regular EP chances are that you'll be satisfied by adding this disc to your collection.

My rating: 50/100


Track list:
1. Just For You 3:47
2. Bizarre Car 3:42
3. Dark Wild Night 3:28
4. Heaven's Door 4:10