Maximum Metal Rating Legend

The Wonderfools Too Late To Die Young Company: Wild Kingdom Release: 2008 Reviewer: Nailer Genre: Hard rock

Rating 3

Tasty, but lacks any meaty challenge to digest and dissect

The Wonderfools--five guys from Grua, Norway, living their dream--a dream that doesn't involve skulking in some dank, dark woods drinking mead, fiddling with broadswords and battleaxes and hating the world. Too Late To Die Young is an easy workout for ears that have been stressed and strained by aggro-metal and the unyielding dissonance of most modern metal. It has a bright production full of power-pop harmonies reminiscent of Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and the minimalism of Canadian hard rock band Danko Jones and the pop-punk of Blink 182. First listens were humble and inviting, however, subsequent listens showed that there was a nutritional void that came from it's simplicity and themes that bordered on high school antics and relationship issues; it's saving graces found in some self-referential lyrics that poke fun at their own aspirations--"The Song About The Song". I'd like to think I've grown out of it more than I've become a cynic or worse, a musical snob who can't appreciate junk food anymore. Too Late To Die Young is tasty, but lacks any meaty challenge to digest and dissect; it's own cutting power barely registering above a paper cut. It would feature better for the radio where it's catchy hooks can be heard for short-lived moments of enjoyment rather than as a centerpiece for intimate exploration.