Basically Wildkard are brother’s Chris Jones and Mikey J. and vocalist Nick Workman from the band Kick with assorted guests making up the remainder of the performers. The songs on the album date back to early ‘90’s demos and are very much in the AOR tradition of ‘FM’ and other Anglicised bands specialising in this stuff. Clearly then ‘Megalomania’ sounds a bit dated – but in a good way on this occasion. 

Production values are spot on and contemporary and Nick Workman’s vocals hold it all together rather nicely. Yet the retro appeal is never annoying when it rears it’s ugly head as the homage is so recognisably enjoyable. Three keyboard players are credited on the album so I can’t tell you who is responsible for the gorgeous early Marilion keyboard sound found on some of the songs. 

Yet it is FM that are the obvious comparison here. Wildkard are nowhere near as good and FM’s Overland can’t be beaten in the vocal stakes but ‘Megalomania’ is a pretty decent stab at good old fashioned Brit-tainted AOR. In fact you’ve got all the classic AOR ingredients on here from mid-tempo rockers through to the obligatory pained ballad.  

‘Letting Go’ is my favourite track as it pretty well encompasses the genre around this time period perfectly. Yet to be fair the songwriting is consistently good throughout. The problem here is that ‘Megalomania’ will be of limited appeal only. I’m afraid it is of its time and therefore will probably only ever get heard by diehard fans of the AOR genre. 

A shame as the performances and production are excellent and the only real negative is that the songs are just a bit too derivative for their own good. Having said all that fans of AOR should at least try and listen to ‘Megalomania’ as it ticks most of the boxes.

Let us know your views on 'Megalomania'

Track Listing

Falling Down
All I Have
End Of The World
7days
Whispers In The Dark
Wake Me Up When It's Over
Something Strange
When Everything Has Changed
Letting Go
Right Here By My Side