Music

Wrapped in Glass

local hard rock band sounds mainstream

Trevor Kupfer |

 
ON THE FENCE. Hard rockers Wrapped In Glass’s 12-song LP Left in the Cold will be unleashed next month.

    Have you ever heard a song and gone, “Wait a minute, I know this?” And I mean instantly. You know this song, and what band it belongs to is on the tip of your brain … but you can’t place it. That’s every song on Wrapped In Glass’s 12-song LP Left in the Cold.

The Eau Claire-based hard rock band includes Mike Navratil (vocals), Jason Thomas (guitar), Jim Herrick (bass), and Andy Gould (drums). Formerly of the bands Counterpoint, Badaz, and Push, the members of Wrapped in Glass have been playing around the Valley for about two years. And now they’re unveiling a new disc of material.

The band cites early 2000s nu metal acts like Disturbed, Slipknot, Mudvayne, and Korn as prominent influences. I’ll go along with that, minus the rap-metal sensibilities. But they’re also clearly influenced by earlier hard rock and metal acts, with a sound that recalls a little 90s alt-metal like Alice in Chains, Black Album-era Metallica, and some 80s metal like Dokken.

Several of their songs begin slow, almost like ballads, before turning a corner and blasting a guitar hook and chorus. I’m told Deeper is one of the more popular tunes with fans, which is no surprise because it’s the strongest in that category. But I personally like the album’s title track and Pay the Price, which break from that mold and make me forget modern hard rock altogether. It’s as if they channel Judas Priest playing for the Rocky IV soundtrack (making everyone’s inner-most dream come true).    With this kind of sound, there’s no question Wrapped In Glass will find a fan base in Eau Claire and Wisconsin as a whole. But it’s a double-edged sword of a concept, because while it’s really accessible and could play at almost any working class bar or high school locker room in the Midwest, it could also sound like it has been done a million times before.

     Wrapped in Glass CD Release + Power Plant • Oct. 23 • Bottle & Barrel • 9:30pm • FREE, $7for CD /// Wrapped in Glass + Clairvoyant • Nov. 6 • Mr. Heavy’s • 10pm WrappedInGlass.net