Blindstone - The Seventh Cycle of Eternity (CD)

Danish power trio Blindstone continue their relentless journey in the sign of the mighty riff on this their seventh musical journey. This time around the band has gone through a change in personnel, introducing drummer Sigurd Jønk Jensen, replacing Anders Hvidfeldt. Anders did an outstanding job, but it feels Sigurd is switching the Blindstone drum department up yet another notch. He actually gets to show his skills already in the thundering opening track Dead Man's Blues, a heavy blues rocker, true to the Blindstone trademark. Guitarist/singer Martin J Andersen lets his guitar speak loudly all over the track, riffing, soloing and filling every crack and crevice with a tasteful bit of wah-ornamented guitar magic. Rolling switches into low gear and offers some crude and fat bass riffing from Jesper Bunk. Man, this is one steamroller of a track! Rebel In Black offers some nice dynamics with a cool verse and slow pace riffing. The backbeat bluesy On My Way offers a change in pace and sound with some (I presume) neck pick-up Strat riffing. One thing I actually do feel has changed a bit, is I don't (so far) hear as much Frank Marino influences, apart from Martin's similar vocal range and style. Ok, Looking Back, a beautiful ballad, does have a touch of Marino mixed with Trower, which is top notch in my book. Martin also stays away from the wah in this one and the solos are just out of this world in tone, clarity, feel, presence and tastefulness. Frickin' outstanding! The oddly title By The Suns Of Warvan, You Shall Be Avenged is a cool heavy riff-oriented instrumental with a strong feel of early Satriani. Wish Satch, whom I'm truly a huge fan of, would record a song like this today. Multi-facetted, melodic and un-shredding, still with truly impressive guitar work. Thunder From The North continues with some heavy guitar chugging and a surprisingly hooky and melodic pre-chorus. A great track, indeed! A Love Manifesto continues in the vein of its predecessor, but still with a totally different approach. Heavy, break-filled verse leaving lots of space for highly personal Martin's low-key vocals that fit so well with this type of music. It also offers another dose of killer solos. Stonesnake opens with some busy drumming and continues in a up-tempo boogie:ish vein, suddenly switching down to half speed in the verse. Killer track! Once again the band moves into the grinding, steamroller heavy-as-lead territory with Once You See The Signs. A crusher! Another cool surprise now comes in the form of Hendrix penned Power of Soul, a heavy blues rocker that has been given the proper Blindstone treatment. All in all, yet another top notch release from the Danes. Seven albums and not a single let-down. Impressive!

Janne Stark

Label: Grooveyard

Year: 2016

Country: Denmark

BRIDGE TO MARS – Bridge To Mars (CD)

This one has been long awaited. This Swedish trio, featuring singer/guitarist JJ Marsh (Spellbound, Glenn Hughes), bassist Robert Hansen (Beardfish) and drummer Thomas Broman (Great King Rat, Electric Boys etc), just oozes of quality looking at these guys’ resumes. It was early on clear that this was going to be an earthy, retro rocking combo, which is just up my alley. Opener Days That Never Came mixes some cool riffing with melodic swirling parts in the landscape between the sixties and seventies, but landing on the right side of the fence for me. Mirror Magic Spirits opens with some hysteric guitar tones and continues into sounding like a vocal version of the Stockholm combo Plankton, which is really good in my book. Vintage Strat sounds without too much distortion, but heavy enough to rock and intense drumming with a busy bass filling the voids and JJ’s cool vocals. This is good stuff! SuperFi Yourself starts out with a super gritty evil sounding fuzz guitar and continues into a cool heavy, yet melodic retro rocker. Love it! In A White Light starts out pretty mellow but gets in the swing in the verse and lands somewhere in a bluesy Mahogany Rush:ish landscape. Soulshine brings back the evil and dirty guitars and gets the Hendrix mojo going in the beginning, but with a heavier stonking verse. A killer tune, indeed! Love the crushing, dirty guitar and rhythm work in this one, with JJ’s cool vocals hovering over it all. Amaze My Mind is also close to Plankton territory with its smooth, swirling melodic, almost folky feel. Jupiter’s Dream is another gritty rocker with ultra cool ever changing rhythm parts. It soon became my favourite on the album. Outstanding! Rivers Of Dissolution is also a cool track, where JJ is most likely using an ElectroHarmonix B9 or C9 organ Machine for his guitar. Have one myself and it’s a really cool sounding pedal that turns your guitar into a distorted Hammond organ. The album finishes with the blues ballad All This Time. All in all a killer debut for this power trio, a band I’d really like to see live, where I think the songs will really come alive. Highly recommended!

Janne Stark

Year: 2015

Country: Sweden

Label: Pride And Joy

Video: https://youtu.be/OnNTXS2BpRE

ELECTRIC RELIGIONS – The Awakening (MCD digi 5tr)

Steven Anderson is a Swedish guitar extraordinaire, who released an excellent solo album entitled Gypsy Power in the nineties. He has since recorded with bands such as Iubar, which not really belong to the heavier genres. Now he suddenly returns with the band Electric Religions. After a short intro, the song 1000 Battles (Know Thy Self) kicks off, giving Black Label Society a run for their money! Heavy, powerful and a real crusher, lightened up by the melodic, yet powerful, vocal delivery of female singer Neili Bjerring. Lee Chao-Long takes the journey on a different route, here with a cool, but heavy, oriental sounding touch. Good Fortune starts off almost a bit Hendrixy, to kick off in full-on doom mode, also here with a strong oriental touch. The EP rounds off with yet another cool, but heavy crusher. Son Of Confusious also has a slightly psychedelic feel to it, blending heavy doomy riffs, an oriental vibe and long swirling sections with effect-style guitars. The song is mostly instrumental with some really great melodic playing from Steven. All in all this was a really great surprise, and a really great release! Much heavier than I anticipated! Now I’m looking forward to a full-length album. Yes, sir!

Janne Stark

Year: 2014

Label: Psychic Eye

Country: Sweden

Link: www.electricreligions.se

ERIC GALES - Transformation (CD)

Eric Gales stunned me back in 1991 when he made his debut with the self-titled The Eric Gales Band CD. He was a young and innocent guitarist with an incredibly explosive guitar style, like a re-born Hendrix on steroids. Much have happened since, numerous albums and a long personal journey. Eric is quite fresh out of prison for drug charges, where he starts the album by claiming his innocence in the song Railroaded. He talks about being framed. If it’s true story, well, what do I know. If it’s so, it of course sucks, but what really matters is that he once again delivers 100 % guitar magic! He has, on some of the previous albums, strayed away a bit and tried using loops, some more jazzy bits, some more traditional blues, some almost poppy stuff, but Transformation is Eric in the zone. Just check out killer riffage á la carte stuff like Tortured Mind, Railroaded, the heavy funkster Altered Destiny, the slightly ZZ Top:ish I Pity The Fool and the heavy rockers Catchin’ Up With The Past and closing track I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog That Way. Even though Eric’s work on the latest 2-3 albums has been pretty consistent, I think this is his best album in years. His guitar-playing has that perfect mix of feel and edge. At times you can almost see the sparks flying. His vocals are like always pretty laid back, but it fits the songs, so I won’t complain. I also must mention his outstanding backing musicians who really help ignite the sparks: bass player Aaron Haggerty and drummer Steve Evans, to guys who really play a big part in making this rocker roll!
Janne Stark
Label: Provogue/Shrapnel
Year: 2011
Country: USA

GUGUN POWER TRIO - "Far East Blues Experience" (CD)

Indonesia??!!! Holy crap, I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of any rockers from Indonesia! Japan, China, North Korea and even Singapore, but never Indonesia. Well, there’s a first for everything. I must say if I didn’t know I’d never have guessed it. The far east musicians often have a special touch, at least to their vocals. Gugun, however, sounds perfectly westernized. Well, sounding westernized is no proof of quality however. I’m therefore happy to say, Gugun passes my quality approval test flying colours! This is no holds barred, guitar driven, balls out blues rock leaning on the heritage of Hendrix, Vaughan, Gallagher and Bolin. Gugun is a outstanding player with a great tone, outstanding feeling and great technique. I really love his style of playing, even though it may not bring anything new and revolutionary. If you’ve got IT, you don’t need to. He’s got a solid, great pair of backing musicians in bass player Jono and drummer Bowie that really bring the goods. “Turn It On” is a prime example of a power trio working in perfect unison, with a guitarist rocking it out and a rhythm unit filling up every crack and crevice. Awesome stuff indeed! Gugun has really succeeded in bringing up a classic genre and giving it a new spin, writing songs that rejuvenates the legacy of the aforementioned kings. I truly LOVE the way he grooves in songs like “Fallin’ Down”. It’s impossible to sit still on your arse. This rocks, big time! Gugun is also a very fitting singer for this genre. Great bluesy vibe and the perfect roughness. I can’t find any bad tracks whatsoever on this album. It’s solid as a rock from start to finish. It also has a nice blend of various styles within the blues rock territory, from the funky vibe of “Spinnin’ Around Me” and “Emptiness”, to the “Little Wing” style softness of “Holding On”, the Stevie Ray:esque “Move On” to the raw heavy jams of “White Dog Jam”. A highly recommended gem!
Janne Stark
Label: Grooveyard Records (http://www.grooveyardrecords.com/)
Country: USA
Year: 2011