Winger

After scoring two platinum albums and one massive hair-metal anthem (that ode to statutory rape titled “Seventeen”), Winger officially crashed and burned with the commercial failure of 1993’s Pull. And while most rock fans had written off the band, which actually rocked harder than most of its peers, guitarist Reb Beach and bass player Kip Winger decided to perform acoustic for VH1’s Metal Mania: Stripped project. This, in turn, inspired the full unit to create IV, the first new Winger album in 13 years. “We played some military bases, and I met a bunch of soldiers and got the idea to write a record from the perspective of the soldiers,” Winger explains. “It didn’t turn out to be that way in the end, but the first four songs are dedicated to the troops.” While IV is laced with Winger’s trademark harmonies, it has been updated with a modern feel. Tracks like “Disappear” are loaded with fist-pumping riffs and uncharacteristically dark lyrics.