Hisingen Blues by Graveyard
I have been a fan of hard rock/heavy metal for years. My love for heavy metal and hard rock (and the memories of the music my father would play) sort of inspired me to turn back and listen to the old classic rock of the 60s and 70s. While The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival were mainstays of my youth, it wasn't until I discovered Led Zeppelin that my love for classic rock was set in stone. After that small sidebar, I think you might understand why I feel like I feel for this album.
In March of 2011, the Swedish retro rock/blues band Graveyard released their sophomore album to the world. Hisingen Blues was released by heavy metal independent record label Nuclear Blast. I was surprised by that, because Graveyard is the farthest thing from Heavy Metal. Graveyard is (like my friend Yhann called it) a Led Zeppelin worship band. That might sound bad and sort of dismissive, but it doesn't have to be.
Graveyard feels like a time capsule. It feels like listening to a band that is contemporary with throwback speakers. Like watching a modern band with 1960s glasses. Sure, it's a little bit faster than most of the blues rock that inspired it, but the influences are there. While they might not be the cup of tea of fans of the modern heavy metal scene, for those that can feel the roots of these modern day bands, and can trace them back to that bygone era that has never been forgotten socially, culturally and especially musically... this band is a breath of fresh air in these tried and true times of generic and soulless rock.
Truth is, I really hate to compare this band with those bands that came before it, but our brains are designed to find the patterns in things and while this band knows what it is, I can't help but be impressed by each song that passes on the album. While "Ain't Fit To Live Here" and "Hisingen Blues" are faster bluesy rockers, songs like "No Good, Mr. Holden" and "Uncomfortably Numb" show inventiveness in their doom and slow, almost ballady southern styles respectively.
They look like they hopped on a DeLorean and couldn't get back home.
So, while I compare this band with many bands that came before them. I don't want it to sound like I am pigeonholing them into one genre of music as it is clear to me and to anyone who listens to their whole album that their influences are incredibly broad. This album has everything you want or need. The aforementioned songs are accompanied by the weirdly fun and entertaining "RSS" and the very interesting instrumental "Longing" that cries of spaghetti westerns, Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone.
I have to admit to never having listened to this band's first album before my friend Rocky suggested I listen to this album. When he said I had to listen to this band Graveyard, I have to say I kind of groaned. I thought it would be one of those generic metal bands that play good music but don't really have much to them.
I think all those songs are amazing but I think "The Siren" is the most amazing of all. The rhythm section really shines. The blues is really heavy in this track and they do a little bit of everything. If you want to know what they are capable of doing, this is the track that you have to listen to. Rikard Edlund and Axel Sjöberg on bass and drums are fantastic and at their best, while Joakim Nilsson's vocals are crisp and clear while still sounding raw and Jonathan Ramm does his thing with the guitar.
Call this band what you will. Worship band, retro band, blue/rock band, stoner rock, psychedelic rock or whatever other sub genre you can find. They are all of those things and more. Even their album art is cool. It is really a little window as to what they have to offer in the album without having to listen to them. Give them a try.
9 out of 10
In March of 2011, the Swedish retro rock/blues band Graveyard released their sophomore album to the world. Hisingen Blues was released by heavy metal independent record label Nuclear Blast. I was surprised by that, because Graveyard is the farthest thing from Heavy Metal. Graveyard is (like my friend Yhann called it) a Led Zeppelin worship band. That might sound bad and sort of dismissive, but it doesn't have to be.
Graveyard feels like a time capsule. It feels like listening to a band that is contemporary with throwback speakers. Like watching a modern band with 1960s glasses. Sure, it's a little bit faster than most of the blues rock that inspired it, but the influences are there. While they might not be the cup of tea of fans of the modern heavy metal scene, for those that can feel the roots of these modern day bands, and can trace them back to that bygone era that has never been forgotten socially, culturally and especially musically... this band is a breath of fresh air in these tried and true times of generic and soulless rock.
Truth is, I really hate to compare this band with those bands that came before it, but our brains are designed to find the patterns in things and while this band knows what it is, I can't help but be impressed by each song that passes on the album. While "Ain't Fit To Live Here" and "Hisingen Blues" are faster bluesy rockers, songs like "No Good, Mr. Holden" and "Uncomfortably Numb" show inventiveness in their doom and slow, almost ballady southern styles respectively.
They look like they hopped on a DeLorean and couldn't get back home.So, while I compare this band with many bands that came before them. I don't want it to sound like I am pigeonholing them into one genre of music as it is clear to me and to anyone who listens to their whole album that their influences are incredibly broad. This album has everything you want or need. The aforementioned songs are accompanied by the weirdly fun and entertaining "RSS" and the very interesting instrumental "Longing" that cries of spaghetti westerns, Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone.
I have to admit to never having listened to this band's first album before my friend Rocky suggested I listen to this album. When he said I had to listen to this band Graveyard, I have to say I kind of groaned. I thought it would be one of those generic metal bands that play good music but don't really have much to them.
I think all those songs are amazing but I think "The Siren" is the most amazing of all. The rhythm section really shines. The blues is really heavy in this track and they do a little bit of everything. If you want to know what they are capable of doing, this is the track that you have to listen to. Rikard Edlund and Axel Sjöberg on bass and drums are fantastic and at their best, while Joakim Nilsson's vocals are crisp and clear while still sounding raw and Jonathan Ramm does his thing with the guitar.
Call this band what you will. Worship band, retro band, blue/rock band, stoner rock, psychedelic rock or whatever other sub genre you can find. They are all of those things and more. Even their album art is cool. It is really a little window as to what they have to offer in the album without having to listen to them. Give them a try.
9 out of 10
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