GUDARS SKYMNING - Mörka Vatten (CD)

I’m not sure why, but it seems Swedish bands have a certain knack for interpreting, reinventing and rejuvenating the classic old seventies hard rock and elevating it to a new level. Abramis Brama, Graveyard, Magnolia, Mangrove, Blowback, Siena Root, well, they are many and they are good. Now Gudars Skymning presents their second release and they made me a happy man again. Mörka vatten (dark waters). It starts out with a pleasant kick in the joint with the riffster Jag är en trollkarl (I’m a wizard) and continues with the heavy and doomy Södersläntsblues, which actually reminds me a bit of Black Sabbath’s Hand Of Doom. What I like about Gudars Skymning is that the song material is not just plowing down one row, they spread the seeds pretty well. The songs range from straight ahead riffing to some more chords based bluesy stuff, even with some folky overtones in songs like Hyfs och fason. I älvens svarta djup is another cool thing with lots of dual guitars, solos both right and left. One of my absolute favourite riffs is found in two versions on this album, first in Swedish and then in English. Well, not the riff, but the lyrics. Aldrig har jag vetat is a Swedish version of Mountain’s classic Never In My Life, which appears as the last track in its original format. A cool version staying very to the original (except the Swedish lyrics). Another Swedish retro gem to keep a lookout for!

Janne Stark
Label: BloodRock
Year: 2011
Country: Sweden
Link: http://www.gudarssymning.se/