Artist: Graveyard
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Swedish hard-rockers Graveyard are coming back to the US this summer to do a bunch of dates with CKY:
07/21 - The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
07/22 - Gators Bar and Grill, Farmington, NM
07/24 - Granada Theatre, Dallas, TX
07/25 - White Rabbit, San Antonio, TX
07/26 - The Meridian, Houston, TX
07/28 - The Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale, FL
07/29 - The Social, Orlando, FL
07/31 - The Loft at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA
08/01 - Pop's, Sauget, IL
08/02 - The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
08/03 - Station 4, Saint Paul, MN
08/05 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL
08/06 - Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
08/07 - St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
08/08 - Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
08/09 - Xtreme Wheels, Buffalo, NY
08/10 - Recher Theatre, Towson, MD
08/11 - The Norva, Norfolk, VA
08/13 - Blender Theatre at Gramercy, New York, NY
08/14 - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
08/15 - Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Look for earlier West Coast headliner dates to be announced shortly as well.
New European dates for Truckfigters:
05/20 - Hafenklang Exil, Hamburg (GER)
05/21 - Museumskeller, Erfurt (GER)
05/22 - White Trash, Berlin (GER) w/Witchcraft, Graveyard
05/23 - De pit, Terneuzen(NL)
05/24 - Orkzbar, Groningen (NL)
05/25 - tba (FRA)
05/26 - Soap Box Club, Nancy (FRA)
05/27 - tba (CH)
05/29 - White Rabbit, Freiburg (GER)
05/30 - Kunstkeller, Fürth (GER)
05/31 - Kuke, Leoben (AUS)
06/01 - Arena, Wien (AUS)
06/05 - Groove Station, Dresden (GER)
06/06 - JZ Westwerk, Osnabrück (GER)
Swedish hard-rockers Graveyard and Witchcraft are teaming up for a European tour:
05/16 - Barfly, Cardiff (UK)
05/17 - Rainbow Bar, Birmingham (UK)
05/18 - ULU, London (UK)
05/20 - Trix, Antwerp (BEL)
05/21 - Nachtleben, Frankfurt (GER)
05/22 - White Trash, Berlin (GER)
05/23 - Cairo, Wurzburg (GER)
05/24 - Arena, Vienna (AUS)
05/25 - 59:1, Munchen (GER)
05/26 - ZOE, Milano (ITA)
05/28 - Little Devil, Tilburg (NL)
05/29 - Underground, Cologne (GER)
05/30 - Headcrash, Hamburg (GER)
As usual, Transubstans delivers the goods. No one in Sweden does hardrock better, maybe not anywhere. Now I might not love absolutely everything they put out, but more often than not, it hits the spot. Magnolia is a rare exception in that I don't hate it (Transubstans does put out a few wacky discs I can't hang with at all), but I don't love it either. I guess I'm just not into the Cream power-trio thing as they interpret it -- too much bluesy jamming, not enough balls-out rock'n'roll. I dig the slow swing on "Tag dig själv i kragen", but it doesn't move me like Siena Root or Graveyard. The sweet B3 solo can't even win me over, that's how cold I am. But, like I said, it's not bad, it's just a bit disappointing because I was fully expecting to love it. Color me bummed.
Magnolia - Tag dig själv i kragen
Dungen's new album "4" is the first one I've ever been able to get into and I think it's because the record is more of a full band effort than a solo project. The music is still the same psych/progg as always, yet it flows so much more effortlessly than ever before. Besides, that's always the best thing about all the classic Swedish progg this borrows from: the extended jams. That's where the action is. Throw in a couple pop tracks (such as what I've posted today) to lighten the load and you're all good. Too much either/or and your either lost in jam-band hell or bored by trying to do something they aren't meant to do. I love the pulsing bass here, the propulsion of the groove. Frilly flutes can't diminish that. So while I still prefer the darker, heavier sounds of fellow retro Swedes such as Witchcraft, Graveyard and Sienna Root, I dig this too and am happy to recommend it.
Dungen - Mina damer och fasaner
I'm always stoked when a new package of promo CDs from Transubstans Records shows up because they've consistently got the best hard-rock going on, hands down. Graveyard, Sienna Root, Øresund Space Collective, Villebråd, the list goes on and on. Naturally there's a few clunkers in the catalog, but I typically find that the positive far outweighs the negative, though a few do fall somewhere in between and The Chair happens to be one of 'em. I dig the band's bluesy hard-rock style, but they've also got a corny side that reminds me of Kiss in a bad way. On the other hand, the more they sound like Blue Cheer, the happier I am and "September" definitely has that going on. I especially dig the way the main riff trades off with the vocals on the verse. It's not rocket science, but if the classic recipe works so well, why mess with it? That's what hard-rock revival is all about; it's called "classic" rock for a reason. This is good summer music that doesn't require much thought, nothing more. And there's no faulting a band with the balls to shout "Turn it up Scandinavia!" as they do in "Barn burner". Just like Kiss, it's goofy as hell, but also kinda bad-ass. I can appreciate that sort of party vibe in limited doses, if I'm in the right mood.
The Chair - September
Swedish hard-rockers Witchcraft and Graveyard are touring the US in September:
09/04 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
09/05 - Dantes, Portland, OR
09/06 - The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
09/07 - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
09/08 - The Clubhouse, Phoenix, AZ
09/10 - Red 7, Austin, TX
09/11 - Rudyards, Houston, TX
09/12 - One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans, LA
09/13 - Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
09/14 - Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
09/15 - Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
09/16 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
09/17 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
When it comes time for me to reflect back on my favorite releases of the year thus far, my prime criteria is always which albums I've listened to the most and I have to say, I don't think there's been any other record that's come close to Siena Root's "Far from the sun". I think we (my wife + I) actually wore out the CDR promo we played it so much. No matter, I just figure that's a better excuse for me to grab a copy of the gatefold vinyl and seriously, is there a better format for music like this? As the Swedes say, this is "hårdrock", plain and simple. A bit of the heaviness of Black Sabbath, but more groove oriented ala Iron Butterfly or early Deep Purple. Sweet riffs galore! And dig that (faux?) sitar on this track -- anyone that can get down with The Soundtrack of Our Lives should be all about it. Sames goes for you Witchcraft and Graveyard fans, too!
Siena Root - Waiting for the sun
The White Noise netlabel has posted a new release from noise act Norrsken for free download: http://chambrenoire.rohr.nu/wn/catalogue.html
I think it's safe to assume that this is a different act than the pre-Witchcraft/Graveyard hard rockers.
Siena Root is the kind of band that forces me to involuntarily break into air guitar heroics every time I hear them. I swear that I try my best to remain skeptical of retro rock like this, but I can't help it. Shit is irresistible! They bust out mad pentatonics ala Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, but instead of the doom and gloom most people (wrongly) associate with that band, the music is incredibly catchy and even kinda glorious when you get down to it. It manages to tap into this weird false nostalgia for a time I never lived, yet somehow that doesn't bother me. I just want to turn it up and rock out. Screw over-analyzing it, grab your favorite mind-altering substance and enjoy.
If you dug that Graveyard track I posted awhile back, you'll love this.
Siena Root - Time will tell
Dusted reviews Swedish hard-rockers Graveyard: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4102
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
02. TALK 1
03. Darkthrone - Canadian metal
04. Sambassadeur - Subtle changes
05. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
06. TALK 2
07. Death By Kite - Bhf. Asta
08. The Alpine - Iceland
09. Pluxus - Bootstrap
10. TALK 3
11. Graveyard - Thin line
12. Hospital - Something in the water
13. Attrap - Just a word away
14. TALK 4
15. Jonna Lee - I wrote this song
16. Paper - My life is going under
17. Broder Daniel - You bury me
18. TALK 5
19. Radio LXMBRG - Score on the floor
20. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
21. Rather Sound Than Safe - The beat
22. Det Gamla Landet - Det heliga landet
23. TALK 6
24. Paris - When I laid my eyes on you
25. No Hope for the Kids - Rainy day
26. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - If this is the way
27. Barra Head - Overseas
28. TALK 7
29. Superfamily - Warszawa
30. Oskar Schönning - S
31. Brick - Automen
32. TALK 8
33. Miss Li - Leave my man alone
34. Kasper Bjørke - Liquid propagnosia
35. Loveninjas - I wanna be like Johnny C
36. Anti Cimex - Only in dreams
37. TALK 9
38. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
8
Hey, this is a shocker! To be honest, we are not that spoiled with great sounding bands from Sweden devoted to this kind of rock n' roll. The kind that flirts with, and administrates, the rawk history of the 70's and early 80's. It's been done so many times before, Spiritual Beggars and Unida got away with it for example, but for the most part, it's been carbon copies getting the press. Here, however, is a band that deserves the press. The obvious influences of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Blue Cheer are present all along these nine tracks, but the main influence here must be the works of Glenn Danzig. Not so much Misfits though but more his solo albums and, for sure, Samhain. The craftsmanship of producer Don Alsterberg is flawless in letting the not-so-much distorted guitars lead the way through the all-analog recordings. And that is one reason to why this record should appeal to more people outside the hard rock/metal core. The warm and fuzzy feel doesn't take the edge off Graveyard's rock either, that's for sure. The other reason is the great vocals. It's liberating to hear, because if there's one genre where good vocals are required, it's this one! The Danzig progressions are there and I'm floored. The chorus in "Thin line" together with an insane groove takes the song through the roof and I'm screaming for more. Still think of Göteborg as a city of pop sensations or death metal pioneers? Broaden your horizons, here's Graveyard bringing back the rock to you.
- Jonas Appelqvist
Graveyard