DISDAINED - Kill My Only Enemy (CD)

Judging from the band picture this is “yet another band with a beautiful front woman and a bunch of ugly guys”. Well there are a zillion bands with only ugly guys and no one complains about that so I’ll leave it at that. It may be a new band, but parts of the band are no newcomers but have been found in bands like Insania (Stockholm) and Satanic Surfers. Disdained are describes as a “female-fronted doom band”, which I however do not agree with. Female-fronted, yes, but doom? No way! Ok, the riffs are heavy, but the songs are generally many many bpm too fast. I’d say they sound like a heavier relative of Within Temptation, but with their own identity. Singer Therése Thomsson has great vocal capacities and she thankfully avoids the Nightwishian opera style wailing, but adds a few well placed growls instead, and they are few and far between. The musicians are also top notch and I’m happy to say here I can actually hear what the bass-player is playing as well. The song material is well-arranged and balances perfectly between the melodic side and the detuned riffing. The mix, by Peter Norlinder and Dan Norman, is dynamic and ambient and at the same time brick-breakingly heavy. It gets pretty theatrical at times, especially in songs like “Numb”, which I really like. It may not be unique, but the competition here in Sweden is pretty slim. Well worth checking out!

Janne Stark
Label: Rambo
Country: Sweden
Year: 2011
Link: http://www.disdained.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

CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD - Captain Black Beard (CD)

I can’t say the name really excites me, but luckily enough the music does. The album kicks off with a couple of high class party oriented mood raisers. High octane major scale straight ahead hard rock ‘n roll. Third track Rock Is My Life kicks the ball in a whole different direction bringing in some very pop-oriented touches in the verse, with a highly AOR-oriented bridge and chorus. American Dream continues in the same direction and I do feel a little bit confused about what type of the band these boys aim to be. Concrete Jungle also features a lot of pop-oriented melodies, but here in a bit more modern way. Singer Sakaria has a clear, clean and really good voice which fits the style perfectly. By Ex-Convict the picture is now quite clear Captain Black Beard is actually more of a pop-oriented melodic rock band than a bunch of party rockers. The first two tracks fooled me a bit there. They do have a highly personal touch to their sound and music and I can’t really say they remind me of any other band. I do get some vibes of long lost band Superfly 69 in some places, like in No Worries, but apart from that I’m a bit lost for comparisons. True Love has some really nice heavy guitar playing, but the vocal melodies screams summer pop. The album ends like it started with some straight ahead party rock in Rockin’ Body. The verse riff gives it a sleazy metal feel, but apart from that it doesn’t really fit the genre. This is actually good, but I can’t really figure out where to place the band. The hard rock approach mixed with the very poppy melodies does confuse me a bit at times. My absolute favourite tracks are the two opening tracks and I sort of wish they would have kept that spirit up a bit more.
Janne Stark
Label: Self-released
Country: Sweden
Year: 2011

BEARDFISH - Mammoth (CD+DVD)

This band is definitely as weird as the name inclines. And, it’s not a bad thing at all. I’ve actually had something of a time-out when it comes to prog as I got tired of staring at my own navel (or at least listening to bands who were). I’ve however discovered some new bands that have made me get into prog mode again. Beardfish is one band that really intrigues me. They have quite an unconventional sound, with a singer that is not just an excuse for having someone wail over some disrhythmic complex musical patterns. Rikard Sjöblom is a damn good singer for starters. The music draws from lots of different areas, but the foundation is firmly based in the aura of the seventies. There’s some touches of Anekdoten meets The Flowerkings, or Gentle Giant meets King Crimson for that matter, in songs like the instrumental And The Stone Said – If I Could Speak, while there are some more heavy rock overtones in opener The Platform. The boys really mix it up which shows in third track Tightrope which sounds more like a re-visited late 60s pop-tune with touches of Camel and some jazzy passages. Green Waves showcases some pretty cool heavy and intense riffing with more of a heavy rock attitude, while next track Oustide/Inside is a short almost classical piano piece. Akakabotu enters a more jazz-fusion oriented landscape and reminds me a bit of Swedish progsters Fläsket Brinner meets Samla Mammas Manna, mixing distorted Hammond organ and saxophone. Album closer Without Saying Anything on the other hand starts off sounding quite a lot like vintage Kansas mixed with more current band Magellan, but when the vocals come in I instantly come to think of Swedish seventies band Blåkulla. This is truly an interesting musical journey I will most likely embark many more times. The bonus-DVD contains the traditional “The making of…” as well as seven tracks recorded live in De Boerderij in Holland of outstanding quality both sound and picture. I’d go for the deluxe edition, it’s worth it!
Janne Stark
Label: InsideOut
Year: 2011

TWINS CREW - Judgement Night (CD)

Swedish melodic power metal band Twins Crew (featuring twins David and Dennis Janglöv on guitars) have previously released two EPs in 2008 and 2009. Both releases have been quite promising, however slightly lacking in production. Now the band has taken it to the next step by releasing a full album in a digipack with really nice artwork. The band has also taken it to the next step when it comes to both production and music. The previous releases were really good, but already in the opener Eternal Nights the buys show they mean business. This track is more in the vein of vintage Queensryche. This is also the first time I’ve really noticed what an awesome singer Andreas Larsson is. He has a bit of Geoff Tate in the higher register, but a lot more power in the lower ones, more in the vein of Russell Allen. The guitar work is also more well-composed and feels like it has elevated to a new level. Furthermore, the song material has also been taken to a whole new level. The previous more traditional power metal has changed more into slightly progressive heavy metal with a powerful touch, a bit like Nevermore or Iced Earth (but better) mixed with vintage Queensryche and with a tad Maiden:esque riffing and some Helloweenian melodies here and there. One track, Light, however take it in a different direction, pushing the pedal to the metal and sounds very much like Dragonforce. This is the stuff I don’t really enjoy, to be honest. It’s melodic and all, but I’m not really into this type of speed-twiddle-sing-along stuff. Impressive guitar-playing, though, I must admit. The songs are well-arranged and the production, by Nicko DiMarino and the band, is really good. Definitely an album well worth checking out for fans of melodic heavy metal.

Janne Stark
Label: self released
Year: 2011
Country: Sweden
Link: http://www.twinscrewband.com/

DEATHDESTRUCTION - Deathdestruction (CD)

Brutal! To be honest this is not 100 % what I’m into. Still I can really get into the heavy groove and the riffs. Deathdestruction reminds me quite a bit of Pantera in their later days. The vocals by Jimmie Strimmel sound highly inspired by Phil Anselmo, especially in songs like Fuck Yeah and Kill It! You will probably recognize Jimmie’s name from bands like Dead By April, Nightrage and Cipher System. The other members are boys of great musical breeding as well. Guitarist Henrik Danhage, drummer Jonas Ekdahl and bass player Fredrik Larsson are all ex-Evergrey. Fredrik Larsson is of course also found in Hammerfall. Deathdestruction is nothing even remotely close to their former employers. The album is angry! It will bite you in the ass if you put it on and turn your back on it. It will shred your speakers and leave your sub woofer gasping for air. It sounds like they have taken Pantera’s sound and put a turbo charger on it. It’s heavier, fatter and with way more balls to the drum sound. The band made their debut with a live-EP and to be honest this album does sound very stripped down and live as well. No unnecessary overdubs, no wimpy harmony vocals. This is raw, this is brutal, and surprisingly enough I really find myself getting into this. It’s nothing for the faint hearted though – it’s Deathdestruction!
Janne Stark
Label: Sony Music
Country: Sweden
Year: 2011
Link: http://deathdestruction.com/

EVERGREY - Glorious Collision (CD)

With a new line-up and a new label Göteborg melancholy progsters Evergrey return in glory. Well, I’m not just trying to be witty, it IS a really great album! Evergrey sure have had their dark moments, and that melancholy, slightly dark touch has become their trademark. With Glorious Collision they of course haven’t adopted any streaks of Monty Python humour or any major chords for that matter. However, the album does feel a bit more uplifting. New guitarist Marcus Jidell (Royal Hunt/The Ring) has added a bit more guitar harmonies, which feels refreshing, at least I haven’t really noticed them in the past in the same way. I must say, despite 3/5 of the band being new guys, only Tom Englund and keyboardist Rikard Zander remain from the previous album, it sounds very Evergrey.Old fans will not be disappointed. The new people them who are they? Guitars are handled by the aforementioned Marcus Jidell, bass is now played by former Mind’s Eye/Therion bassist Johann Niemann and the drums by Hannes van Dahl. From the first note you feel like this bunch has been playing together for years. It’s solid and it glues really well together. The song material is quite varied going to a variety of places, both in moods and tempos, even though the lower mid-tempo region still prevails. I’m glad to hear some more up-tempo stuff such as Free and Restoring The Loss, the cool balladry in songs like The Phantom Letters, The Disease… and album closer …And The Distance, which takes us from a really soft intro to a heavy chugging finale. I also really love the heavy riff-oriented stuff like I’m Drowning Alone. No weak spots as far as I can hear. A solid, consistent effort which again confirms Evergrey’s high position on the prog-oriented metal map.
Janne Stark
Label: SPV
Year: 2011
Country: Sweden
Link: http://www.evergrey.net/