EDDY MALM BAND – Northern Lights (CD)

I heard the Eddy Malm Band demo several years ago and liked it so much I wanted to include a demo track on the compilation for my latest encyclopedia. According to the liner notes on the CD this track was what made No Remorse pick up the band, which makes me happy and proud! So, yes, I am happy the album is finally out! It’s funny, I was expecting Heavy Load, but what I hear is more of Eddy’s band prior to Heavy Load – Highbrow, and that makes me even more happy. To be honest, I was a bigger fan of Highbrow than of Heavy Load. It’s not really raw, raunchy and brutal, but quite clean and melodic, and I really like that! I’ve also always been a fan of guitarist Per Hesselrud’s guitar playing, even though it has mostly been displayed in his quirky bands Bosse and IFK Doom (a hilarious band where they do Sabbath songs in Swedish). The rhythm section featuring drummer Mike Kerslow and bass player Tomas Malmfors is tight as a rat’s ass. I Had Enough is a straight ahead classic rocker, closer to AC/DC than Heavy Load, while Turn It Down sounds like it was written for Highbrow. Nasty Woman slides in closer to the classic NWoBHM era. Heavy Load fans will most likely recognize track #6 – a new rendition of Dark Nights from the Heavy Load Metal Conquest MLP. It always tough to record a new version of an old and well-known track, but I like the heavier punch to the new version (and, did I mention I like Per’s guitar playing?). The boogie-oriented Get Out Of Here again takes us back to the NWoBHM era and bands like Saxon, Maiden, Chevy and Dedringer. Danger is a cool stomper where Eddy shows he hasn’t lost his vocal power from the 80s. Next is yet another re-make, this time the A-side of the first Highbrow single from 1978, A Loser. A really great version, actually, except for the weird clicking sound (echo??) in the chorus, which I don’t really get. The album finished with the heavy rocking title track. A really good album indeed!

Janne Stark

Label: No Remorse

Year: 2016

Country: Sweden

BONAFIDE – Flames (CD)

Sweden’s rock n roll machine #1 is at it again! They are definitely one of the best live bands in Sweden, no doubt. The energy, power and joy is only surpassed by Aussies Airborne (Well, f**k they surpass EVERYONE!!). The band’s new album, Flames continues in the old tradition with the, not surprising, lovely shameless vintage AC/DC flirts, such as Smoke And Fire and Bottle Of Jack. But, there’s way more to the album than that. Take a track like Power Down, which shows a new side of Bonafide, with a nice blues-quirky side with nice little twists and turns. Absolutely love that track. Pontus Snibb is not only a first-class singer, he also treats his six string with love and emotion, which definitely shows in his geetar majik in this track. The lack of brutal metal distortion is compensated with nice punchy bass guitar, a proof that heaviness ain’t just about the amount of distortion, but about the entire package and what the joint string forces create together. A power pack! Another cool surprise is the soul oriented influences in tracks like Written In Stone, which made me think of The Black Crowes and some vintage Skynyrd, also in the cool harmony guitar part. Keep A Safe Distance is another cool stomper which I think will go down well live! It’s only rock and roll, but I like it, yepp, I do!

Janne Stark

Label: Off Yer Rocka

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden

SKULL PARADE – Skullparade (CD)

Swedish hard rockers Skull Parade (featuring former Treasure Land bassist Magnus Lind) released their debut in 2014, a pretty good debut indeed. The follow-up opens with a kick ass quirky hard rocker entitled Nightmare, which makes me think of both Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and TNT in their “Transistor” era. Nice melodies and cool guitar playing. Drained continues in the quirky vein with some really cool and odd chord changes. If you’re into bands like Galactic Cowboys and Matches For Maggie (sure, you wouldn’t know about them, would you?), these first two tracks should be right up your alley! Beyond Protection almost draws a bit on thrash or US power metal. Not a huge fan of the vocals in this one. The oddly entitled Lost Ball In High Weeds starts out with acoustic guitar and vocals, but soon turns into some strange doom type song with a touch of Metallica in the verse, while the chorus is almost a bit grungy. Interesting. Fair Weather Friend throws the ball in a totally different direction, fast but still quite proggy and with singer Erik Anell not trying to smooth things out. He’s a good singer, but he sometimes gets a bit too rough around the edges for my taste. Acid Rain starts out as an acoustic ballad and turns into a slick poppy thing, quite different from the previous songs. Train To Nowhere takes us back to the quirky, funny hard rock that started the album, and it’s definitely where the band catches my main attention. Awaken The Masses is another tracks that’s a bit hard to define. Great, quirky guitar playing, cool riffing, but the vocals is the letdown for me, I’m afraid. This 9-tracker finishes with Ballad Of Cloaks, a theatrical, doomy, semi-ballad. Actually not bad at all! Except for the f***ing saxophones… So, my general impression: a bit scattered, but it still comes together in a way, some great songs and some that didn’t attract me that much, great musicians, cool guitar solos, but the vocals are the weak link for me. Works great in some songs, but feels a bit too raw and untamed in others. Well worth checking out!

Janne Stark

Year: 2017

Country: Sweden

Label: Rexius Records