VANITY INSANITY - Insanity Fair (CD)

 

I remember when I first came in touch with Vanity Insanity at the very cool and sadly missed Rock Out Wild festival in Sorsele, Sweden back in 2011. They showed great potential already back then with singer Viggo being quite the power-screamer! Today’s line-up features Viggo Svanberg Hanssen on lead vocals and guitar, Benjamin Bagge on guitar, Fredrik Bergström on bass and Johan Andersson on drums.

After a short intro, the title track kicks off in a powerful, hard driving classic sleasy vein. The mid-tempo Hider offers a bit more heavy riffing. I really like the fat and powerful production and the classic Marshall sounding guitar tone. Wheel Of Misfortune and Hold On offer some more classic sounding heavy riffing, with a strong late 70s/early 80s hard rock touch. Fake It ’Til You Make it draws a bit more from the classic era of Mötley Crüe and Ratt, at least before they go all Motörhead… and, aha, I see what you did there! The song if of course an ode to the band’s own influences. Any fans of the first two bands should definitely check this out! The album continues with yet another cool riff rocker in See Me Coming. Hell yeah! Slow, sleazy and stonery! Love it! Work, East, Sleep, Repeat starts off with an almost Rush-like rhythmic pattern, but soon enters into heavy, crunky sleaze-chugging territory, while the chorus is almost thrash-ish and may as well have been nicked off a F.K.Ü song. The album ends with Volountary Enslavement Of The Mind which sends the album off with another classic sounding sleazy hard rock offering. If you’re a fan of classic, melodic, sleazy hard rock with great musicians, high quality vocals and killer production, this one’s definitely for you! Well done, lads!

Janne Stark

Label: Vain Music

Year: 2026

Country: Sweden

Janne Stark's Top 10 of 2025

Janne Stark Top 10 2025

Here's my Top 10 of 2025, plus some honorable mentions!

1. A.C.T: Eternal Winter – The proggy Swedes never disappoint! Another stellar album! A quirky and melodic musical journey that should attract both prog and AOR fans. Always and still top-notch song writing and performance! 

2. The Mind Palace: Birthrite – Outstanding Swedish melodic hard rock with a unique singer, great songs and great production!

3. Danko Jones – Leo Rising – Danko Jones never fails. Yet another great rockin’ release from these raw rocking Canadians! Riffs meet garage with a punk attitude. Tight and rockin’! Love it!

4. Wytch Hazel: V: Lamentations – I just love these druid rockers, and even more after seeing them live in Sweden. Quirky retro hard rockers that may as well have released this album in the late 70s. Stellar stuff!

5. Inglorious: V – After some years of confusion Inglorious returns with a stellar riff monster. They are definitely back with a vengeance!

6. Warlung: The Poison Touch – Another stellar release by these retro heavy rockers mixing doomy riffs with solid melodic vocals and stellar harmonies. Their best album? Possibly! 

7. Dusty Rose Gang: A-one From Day One – I had to check several times to make sure this wasn’t a hidden previously unreleased early/mid seventies heavy rock album. The sound and style are so authentic it’s scary! If it was recorded in 1972 it would have been up there with Stray Dog, Captain Beyond and Sir Lord Baltimore.

8. Bone Church: Deliverance – The third album mixing the sounds of stoner rock, NWoBHM and classic 70s heavy rock into a perfect musical blend. The killers in a row!

9. Coheed & Cambria: Vaxis III: The Father Of Make Believe – C&C are back with a vengeance! Killer album in the vein of their best album “Good Apollo”. Melodic, proggy, quirky and with great songs! 

10. Armellino: Heritage Blend – Outstanding classic 70s sounding French hard rocker! Bluesy hard rock with swagger!

Honrable mentions:

Anthony Gomes: Praise The Loud – Current kick azz blues rocker with riffs that rock and a voice laced with barb wire! 

Arkado: Open Sea – A solid melodic hard rocker well worth an honorary mention. A stellar heavy AOR rocker with high class vocals and musical delivery. Solid song writing and great production, too!

Angeline: Rhythm Of One – With a load of albums under their belt these Swedish melodic hard rockers continue to deliver high-class guitar driven melodic rock. 

Harem Scarem: Chasing Euphoria – These Canadian melodic rockers are more of an institution by now. Can’t say they’ve ever released a bad album, even if there are some I like more than others. “Chasing Euphoria” is still another solid melodic rock release from the band. 

MoonDog: Time Is The Fire - Solid Danish hard rocker with a 70s touch!