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By BRIAN DARNELL
Staff Writer

In the era of American Idol and Making the Band, it is nice to hear some kick-ass, straight edge Rock n’ Roll. Thankfully, Wyldsky recently released their debut CD. That is not to say that they are a one-trick-pony. They blend the best elements of experimentation, technical ability and experience to put together something phenomenal – a great rock album.

Wyldsky was founded by former Great White guitarist, Tyler Nelson. Naming his new creation after his two daughters, Wylie and Skylar Nelson, he gathered a group of exceptional musicians to form his vision into a reality.

Accompanying Tyler Nelson are Michael Lesniak on percussion, and Steve Evans on bass guitar. They are accomplished musicians in their own right. Lesniak is heavily influenced by jazz-fusion and according to Tyler is “the best drummer I’ve ever worked with.”

Blues and Jazz legend, Steve Evans was fresh off of a tour with Coco Montoya when Nelson first spoke with him about this project. Evans has also worked with top recording artist Rick Derringer and Canadian musician Pat Travers.

According to their website, the current touring line-up is as follows:

Besides being a veritable guitar virtuoso, Nelson is also the lead singer. In this role he surrenders his heart and soul. What I love most about the way he sings is the control he has over his vocals. Tyler’s vocals are passionate and powerful. At times his voice has a “dirty” quality. It is raunchy, as is the case in a song like, “Next World”, where he spends the 4 minutes and 40 seconds of the track sounding like a kick-ass cross between Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Lemmy from Motorhead.

However on other songs such as “Nightmare and a Dream” and “Rendezvous”, his voice can be gentle and restrained one moment, passionate and fervent, another.

This album gives listeners a lot of everything. “Rendezvous” seems like it may just be a ballad, but many different elements are drawn to create an amazing track. The song begins with the sound of crashing ocean waves. A lone acoustic guitar begins to play and soon after an electric guitar accompanies. Nelson then sings both gently and then powerfully throughout the song. Four minutes in, we are hit with an amazing lead guitar solo while a Led Zepplin-ish riff plays in the background.

The song ends as Nelson sings, “spread your wings, we'll fly together, on this rendezvous through time.” All of these elements are drawn together perfectly to create a very memorable song. They ebb and flow to create one of the best tracks on the album.

“Comin' On” is another example where I felt different musical styles were used to create something unique. Like “Rendezvous”, it begins very classically as Nelson’s technical guitar ability really shows through. It carries on as a ballad, but then explodes into some of the most metallic music on the whole album – true anthemic rock and roll!

When I first began writing this piece for Soundline, “Nightmare and a Dream” was my personal favourite track. It reminded me of those old hard rock ballads – that is if they were written today and had a ‘current’ feeling to them. What blows me away about this album though is that each track is so good and distinctive in its own right.

Now near the completion of this article, I would be hard-pressed to pick one song that I felt stood out for me. I guess the song I like the best depends on what kind of mood I am in. And regardless of that mood, there is a track on this album that will resonate with me.

Although the band has been compared to Led Zeppelin, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Soundgarden and Pink Floyd, I think such comparisons are pointless and serve only to minimize what Wyldsky has accomplished with this album.

They are their own creation and, although not known in mainstream music as well as the aforementioned artists, their debut offering is a solid 10-track compilation, each song its own unique and dynamic expression of Nelson’s own experiences.