A more than worthy follow-up album that really could be an early contender for my Album Of 2018.

Two years after the release of their debut album 'Shanghaied' comes the self-titled sophomore effort from Ammunition, the collaboration between Norway's former Wig Wam vocalist Åge Sten Nilsen (aka "Glam") and the Godfather of Swedish Melodic Rock, Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse, Nordic Union, W.E.T.). Returning from the debut are guitarist Jon Petterson (Bad Habits) and keyboardist Lasse Finbråthen (Wig Wam), while incoming are Victor Cito Borge (TNT) on bass and Eclipse's bassist Magnus Ulfstedt on drums, who replace Hal Patino and Robban Bäck respectively.

Of all the aforementioned projects that Mårtensson is involved with, Ammunition is definitely the least Mårtensson-sounding. It seems as if it's very much Nilsen's baby, retaining the oft-quirky lyrical content and Glam Rock stylings of his previous employers, though steering clear of the somewhat off-the-wall direction Wig Wam could occasionally head in.

Picking up exactly where 'Shanghaied' left off, 'Ammunition' is another collection of Glam Rock-inspired anthems, perhaps not quite as varied as its predecessor, but if anything the melodies of opener 'Time', 'Freedom Finder' (which borrows a guitar melody from Billy Squier's 'The Stroke'), 'Virtual Reality Boy', 'Gung Ho (I Told You So)', 'Tear Your City Down', 'Caveman', 'Bad Bones' and 'Klondike' are even bigger and better than that found on the debut. Then there's first single 'Wrecking Crew'; it's sheer kooky brilliance and catchy as hell, and it really should have seen Ammunition through to the finals of this year's Eurovision Song Contest – the place where my love affair with Wig Wam started when I first stumbled across their scintillating performance of 'In My Dreams' back in 2005. However, lurking amongst the fun and frivolity are moments of real class and sensitivity; in a similar vein to 'Road To Babylon' (from 'Shanghaied') is 'Eye For An Eye', a wonderfully arranged, Celtic-tinged ballad that Dare's Darren Wharton could be proud of, while 'Miss Summertime' is a lyrically light-hearted love song with a nice, bluesy edge.

Impeccably produced, as we've come to expect with everything Mårtensson is involved with, 'Ammunition' is a more than worthy follow-up album that really could be an early contender for my Album Of 2018.

Ant Heeks