As usual, this latest offering by Switchblade is tough going. We're six minutes into what has to be classified as a pretty boring opening track ("Movement I"), before things kick off in earnest and -- luckily -- what does kick off is nothing short of psychedelic uneasiness, more down to the vocals than anything else. This album has some great moments; every song has some part that really, really kicks ass. The problem is that Switchblade take so damn long to get there every time that it comes across as boring in a lot of places. It's heavy; there's no denying that. But if we take it at face value, around half of it is "wow, killer" and half of it is "yeah, whatever." - John Norby
2 minutes isn't much to go on when it comes to Switchblade, but that's all you get in this teaser for their upcoming album. The album will be self-titled as always and will feature guest spots from Per Wiberg (ex-Opeth, Candlemass) on organ plus vocals from Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), David Johansson (Kongh) and The Cuckoo (Terra Tenebrosa). Official release is September 21 via (Sweden) and (everywhere else).
The nominees for the 2012 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative/indie Grammy, have been announced:
Folk/Ballad: Marin/Marin – Småfolket () Merit Hemmingson – EQ () Navarra – Nya fönster () Siri Karlsson – Gran Fuego ()
Dance: Skudge – Samlad årsproduktion () Jonsson/Alter – Samlad årsproduktion () The Field – Looping State of mind () Pallers – The Sea Of Memories ()
Punk: Sju Svåra År – Storma varje hjärta () Obnoxious Youth – The Eternal Void () Vånna Inget – Allvar () Black Feet – Black Feet ()
Hip-Hop: Mofeta & Jerre – Briljanter & Smaragder () Ison & Fille – För evigt () Mohammed Ali – Vi () Roffe Ruff – Barrabas ()
Experimental: Hans Appelqvist – Sjunga slutet nu () Hanna Hartman – H ^ 2 () Ophir – Opus Operatum () Midaircondo feat. Michala Østergaard-Nielsen – Reports on the Horizon ()
Hardrock: In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil () Opeth – Heritage () Terra Tenebrosa – The Tunnels () The Haunted – Unseen ()
Rhythm: Syster Sol – Kichinga! () Simone Moreno – Planetas () Kapten Röd – Fläcken Som Aldrig Går Bort () OK Star Orchestra – The Beat and the Melody ()
Pop: Azure Blue – Rule of thirds () Jonathan Johansson – Klagomuren () Korallreven – An album by Korallreven () Loney Dear – Hall Music ()
Rock: Pascal/Mattias Alkberg – Allt det här () Kajsa Grytt – En kvinna under påverkan () Bob Hund - Det överexponerade gömstället () Tramp – Indigo ()
Synth: Henric de la Cour – Henric de la Cour () Necro Facility – Wintermute () Mr Jones Machine – Monokrom () Covenant – Modern Ruin ()
Jazz: Jonas Holgersson – Snick Snack () Parti & Minut – Från klart till halvklart () Priming Orchestra – Deep Blue () The Splendor – Delphian Palace ()
Best Unsigned: Death By Armborst Storskogen Schizo and the Personalities Farsta
Singer/Songwriter/Country/Americana: Brothers of End – Mount Inside () Ane Brun – It All Start With One () Promise & the Monster – Red Tide () Lars Bygdén – Songs I Wrote ()
Best live act: Kriget () This is Head () Graveyard () Mattias Alkberg ()
"Carpathian Forest from Sweden" is the best way to describe Craft. Image, ethos, artwork, album titles, song titles, music; it's all just a punked-up rehash of Nattefrost's sick utterings, so much so that if you were to fire a Carpathian sticker over the Craft logo on any of their albums you'd probably be none the wiser. They have experimented with other people's styles, however, and on "Void" there's any number of big-time black metal bands shining through. Just one listen reveals a multitude of them which, it must be stressed, are familiarities rather than blatant rip-offs. This distinct lack of originality hits the album hard, though. There are some nice moments (although nice is hardly a word that Craft would want used here) but it's just too... meh. It's been done before. Hundreds of times. There's absolutely nothing exciting about it and, if truth be told, it's almost a chore to have to sit it out until the end. - John Norby
reports that, yes, Terra Tenebrosa vinyl is indeed on the way as well the rumoredCraft LP (a 2xLP version of the new album "Void") plus a new 7" from Sonic Ritual.
At last, a full-length preview of a Terra Tenebrosa track off their forthcoming album "The tunnels", due out March 4 via . The band features ex-members of Breach and is totally crushing, as one would expect.
didn't release anything last year, but that's about to change: up first, the debut CD "The tunnels" from Swedish doom act Terra Tenebrosa. Preorder here; samples here.
When it comes to a matter (or lack) of speed there aren't that many bands capable of touching Switchblade. The Stockholm trio have taken the rules of drone/doom to the extreme in order to spew forth a barrage of sickening dread upon anyone who dares listen. Think of an ambient, guttural drone coupled with a tortured, black metalesque vocal and you get the idea of what this band are all about. Given the ultraslow nature of Switchblade, mention must be made of how tight the musicianship is on here. With vast chasms between beats, it's inspiring to hear everyone come in on cue every time, and that's not easy when the bpm borders on the negative. That said, with little in the way of variety on display, it can be a difficult and, at times, tedious listen if you're not in the right frame of mind. Released on drummer Tim Bertilsson's own label Trust No One, this fifth full-length recording might be more of the same from Switchblade, but it's sure to leave die-hard fans of the genre in awe. - John Norby
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