Predictable! Within two seconds -- literally -- of the bass intro kicking off on this album I can tell exactly how the riff's going to develop. Hoping for a pleasant surprise, however, is short-lived. The riff does, indeed, pan out exactly as I had imagined; as does the entire song. Not a good start. By third track, "Who you are", this has become a cringeworthy affair, not only because of having to endure a poor attempt at some sort of Zakk Wylde in-rhythm pinching, but also due to what can best be described as a collection of schoolboy riffs. "Honesty" almost redeems itself with a decent chorus reminiscent of something on Anthrax's "The sound of white noise", but the remainder of the song is entirely forgettable. Guys, I'm really sorry, but this isn't doing it for me at all. As you say in the song "Get out", I've tried to understand. And in all the metal that I have reviewed this year alone, within every subgenre under the sun, this is down there with the worst of them. It's not for the lack of effort, I'm sure, but if one positive thing is to be taken from this it's that there's obvious potential here. Closer "Enemy within" is actually well done and easily the best on the album. Too little too late this time, but it's more attention to detail and composition in the future that could find Zero Illusions release something noteworthy. - John Norby
Tomas Andersson Wij has signed with and will be releasing his Andreas Mattsson-produced album "Romantiken", his seventh overall, on January 25, 2012. Also, on that same day, a new book of his best lyrics will be published under the title "Sånger".
Up until now, Sweden's answer to AC/DC have been just that -- a Scandinavian version of Angus Young and co. that at times sounded more like the Aussie quintet than they did themselves. Bullet did it with such class, however, that there were rarely cries of 'rip-off'; rather, the majority of people who found their way to the band raved about their similarities in a positive light. Three albums in and we still have that unquestionable 'DC style, but "Highway pirates" shows that the band have this time found a voice more unique to themselves. There's more of a hair metal vibe on here, particularly in the guitar leads and the sung-in-unison chorus parts and this, in itself, marks an essential development in the band's output. Let's face it, "Bite the bullet" and "Heading for the top" were killer releases in their own right, but one more AC/DC-meets-Accept overloaded album may well have found Bullet fall on the wrong side of favour. Songs such as "Fire and dynamite" and "Down and out" display the classic Bullet style and waver little from that formula, while others -- the title track and "Knuckleduster" as prime examples -- show Bullet at their hard rockin' best. More of this and they'll be unstoppable. - John Norby
Sorry I've been MIA on the editorial front, but it's probably not gonna change much for the foreseeable future either. While Europe heads into summer slowdown/festival mode, I'm getting more work piled on me than there are hours in the day. However, I do have a list next to me on my desk of artists I'm long overdue to cover and I really am gonna try my best to get through them one way or another in the not-so-distant future. First up, here's a little something from Alouatta off their brand new 10" "DIY EP" (out now via ) where they out-Wipers the Pacific Northwest. No kidding, for all the bands local to me that attempt to emulate said regional sound, Alouatta has em beat in every which way. Seriously, if someone told me these dudes were from Portland, I'd believe them. And yeah, that's an endorsement.
Gaffa reports that the Swedish Grammis have split the Urban/Dance category back into electro/dance and hip-hop/soul for next year's awards: http://gaffa.se/nyhet/50120
They've also brought back the best Video award and have followed the lead of P3 Guld by dropping the male/female artist categories to just have one best Artist.
Relentless, single-minded in the best possible way and extolling the very essence of the mantra "keep it simple, stupid"; this is Paper. And they're also playing at our It's a Trap! Clubnight at Debaser Malmö tomorrow night with Epidemics from Umeå! Don't screw this one up folks.
Norwegian indie greats Lukestar have a new EP out this week featuring the single "Great bear" along with a four outtake tracks, two from current album "Taiga" and two from the sessions of their last album "Lake Toba". They're also doing a remix contest with the tune "Flying canoes", the best of which will be included on a Spotify mixtape the band is releasing this summer: http://lukestar.com/archives/301
A Swedish Limp Bizkit is the best way to describe this Stockholm crew, although it's more the Fred Durst-ian vocals than the music that finds Riff Knives out limpin' with the Bizkit. The title track here is actually pretty killer and is probably the most Bizkity in terms of the music itself, with a damn fine chorus riff and a cool vocal style to match. From there things kinda go downhill a little, with the remainder of the tunes sounding off like it's the red capped fool himself behind the mic. If that's your bag, you'll probably be in rap metal heaven. For me, however, it just sounds like they worship Durst and aspire to sound exactly like him. In places this harks back to the early '90s output of funk metal icons Mordred, but offer nothing near the creative excitement output by the San Fran thrashers back in the day. "Ape flip" is a fine effort, but it's going to take a lot more than this to detonate an explosive resurgence in the rap metal genre. - John Norby
Even though it's barely relevant to It's a Trap!, I'm stoked to learn that Swedish label will be reissuing Doomstone's 1994 cult classic "For those whom Satan hath joined" on vinyl for the very first time this coming fall. For the unindoctrinated, Doomstone was a project featuring members of Deceased playing what I guess you could call old-school Satanic Heavy Metal. They also boasted one of the best band member aliases of all-time, Cross Turner Upside-Downer.
is giving away the new Den Svenska Tystnaden single "Utnyttjad igen" as a free download: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=318
Said tune isn't a standard album track though, it's actually a cover of "I've been used again" by Billie the Vision & the Dancers and is included on the upcoming best-of collection.
Zero Illusions
Bullet
Riff Knives
