They’re coming in like a wrecking ball. The Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — recently gathered in delightful Oslo. There we reviewed the ten acts competing at Melodi Grand Prix, the national selection for Norway at Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv. Today the team were feeling a little rock, so we talked about Ammunition and their song “Wrecking Crew”. Can this wrecking crew break our walls? Read on to find out…
Ammunition – “Wrecking Crew”
“Wrecking Crew” reviews
Kristin: Yes, yes, good God, YES! Welcome back Glam..err…I mean Åge Sten. For 12 long years, I have been waiting for another “In My Dreams” moment, and it has finally arrived. This is pure gold. The whistling part in the beginning immediately pulls you in, and then its just full power from there. Ammunition might not be as theatrical as Wig Wam, but the attitude is still there, y’all. Like, love, adore. Now, my main question is: can Åge rock a spandex onesie, like he did back then? Oh, I bet he can!
Score: 9.5/10
Chris: True story: 14-year-old Chris wanted Wig Wam to win in 2005 more than anything. So god bless Åge for coming back with something just as enjoyable. Seriously, I just can’t stop smiling when this comes on. It’s nothing new, it’s nothing fancy, but it’s three minutes of pure catchy enjoyment. Please, Norway, send this to Kyiv.
Score: 8/10
William: The opening whistle sequence suggests fun and anthemic — à la FUN.’s “We Are Young”. But then those dated guitars and brash drums come blaring in like a bull in a china shop. It never recovers and leaves me reaching for earplugs and painkillers. That said, the group formerly known as Wig Wam know how to deliver live and proper staging and could see this making a major impact. I’m voting more on potential than actual love of the song.
Score: 5/10
Edd: Although rock isn’t my genre, this is enjoyable. The post-chorus whistling is to die for and I’m expecting a wonderfully over-the-top performance. The weak melody means it’s nowhere near as epic as their 2005 entry, but it’s still a solid headbanger. Norway can do better though…
Score: 7/10
Robyn: I like the sound of these guys. Not only can Ammunition deliver a solid metal tune, but they also sound like they’d be handy with a sledgehammer — both literal and metaphorical. “Wrecking Crew” is like a sea shanty for modern life, a reassurance that no matter how messed up things get, you can always start over. A highlight of MGP 2017! I can’t wait to see this live.
Score: 8/10
Jordi: Even if I tend to dislike rock songs, this is not the case. Instead, this is impressive. Ammunition are hungry and ready to bring the House down with their rock’n’roll “Wrecking Crew” track. Full of power and energy, there’s no way I cannot slay the dance floor with such a hit. They managed to bring rock without sounding dated and having a perfect spot in today’s radio stations market. This could easily stand out in a yet heavy ballad contest, and the guitars are everything! Shake your hair and rock on!
Score: 7.5/10
Florian: The song has interesting elements and definitely stands out compared to the other songs in this year’s selection, but doesn’t go anywhere. Their voices become quite annoying. I can’t see this doing well in Kyiv.
Score: 3/10
Luis: Wreck the Oslo Spektrum down, Ammunition! These guys give me life, as much as Wig Wam did in 2005. “Wrecking Crew” is one of the most solid songs of the years, and I love how it is metal, but still accessible to everyone. Norway, if you want my unconditional love, choose this. And if you don’t care about my love, because I’m basically no one, just go and choose this anyway. Seriously, it’s the best option in your national selection.
Score: 9/10
Our jury for Melodi Grand Prix 2017 includes 20 jurors, but we only have room for eight reviews. The remaining 12 scores are listed below.
Angus: 6.5/10
Antranig: 6/10
Bernardo: 6.5/10
Cinan: 8/10
Dayana: 6/10
Forrest: 5.5/10
Jason: 6.5/10
Josh: 7/10
Jovana: 7/10
Sami: 6/10
Steinunn: 7/10
Zakaria: 9/10
Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 3 and a high of 9.5.
William is so wrong =)
@Kris: The joy of wanting a drag queen joke entry in Eurovision is just so emotional I can’t contain my tears while reading your *cough cough* musical excitement ….
It’s too easy to complaint that ballads are dated … but when will anyone ever tell these dudes that a) they aren’t Guns N Roses b) this is 2017 and not 1992 …
Great song! Love it!
For me it’s probably the best song of the NF!
It gives me 2005 vibes (also like that entry). It will stand out, as we don’t have many rock songs (maybe only Ukraine).
My favorite in MGP by far. Eurovision definitely needs more of the good quality rock, and who would deliver it better than the lead singer of Wig Wam? So yeah, I really hope this one wins, because I don’t really like the other songs, cause none of them really stand out. And with a great performance this should destroy, or should I say, wreck the competition. It should qualify pretty easily if it wins.
Clear winner in Norway and maybe in Kyiv! Send it pls!!!
This is truly THE standout. I’d pick this over anything else in Norway, glam rock needs to come back!
The production is so unoriginal here, though I predict it might be fun live.
@Samy
I want Lolita zero to come back.That’s the only way to reduce chances of Fusedmarc from winning.
http://www.lrt.lt/projektai/eurovizija/apklausa#skip
Please help us not to bring Lolita back to the competition 🙁
Wig Wam was glam, Ammunition is more hard rock/sleaze rock/garage rock of The Hellacopters
* Åge
I absolutely love this song. It’s instantly catchy, it’s got good lyrics and it will for sure stand out in Kiev. I don’t care about what genre a song is at all as long as the song is good. Actually, I think ‘Wrecking Crew’ is much better and way more original than ‘In my dreams’. Age and his band are the only good choice for Norway this year, in my opinion. I tend to either completely dismiss their entries or absolutely love them, IF they manage to pick the one good entry they usually have. Like in 2013 and 2015,… Read more »
http://www.lrt.lt/projektai/eurovizija/apklausa
Guys lolita zero is about to be back in the final in Lithuania. LRT has decided to introduce a wildcard. All of us can vote on 7 selected artists for the wildcard.