Today Eurorock brings you three of the best of a recent batch of heavy rock releases from Sweden.
First, we have Abramis Brama an established hard rock band with their latest album Smakar Sondag. Next up is Endless Skies from Mangrove a band renowned for their seventies flavoured psychedelic rock jams. The Crystal Caravan also bring us their self titled debut.
Abramis Brama – Smakar Sondag
It’s been four years since Abramis Brama released their last studio album Rubicon. Now we have the long awaited follow up Smakar Sondag. The clue is in the title and the vocals are delivered in the bands native Swedish.
The title translated means Tastes Sunday and it comes at the end of a period of change for the band. Out went original drummer Jansson who joined Witchcraft, in came guitarist Rob from Backdraft, and drummer Trisse from Grand Magus.
This is seventies rock with several pleasing twists. Written over a period of twelve years it is representative of Abramis Brama past, present, and possibly future. The fact that the lyrics will have you scrambling around for a Swedish phrase book shouldn’t necessarily deter any English speaking seventies hard rock fan as it is easy to connect with their energy.
Sure, I’d love to be able to understand the superb “N.E.J.”, but even though my language limitations don’t let me get the lyrics, I’m there with them musically. Light and dark switches are at work with the delicate “N.E.J.” making way for a pulsating “Langsamt”.
Smakar Sondag is very much for fans of November, or Mountain, but also has a nice dollop of Cream and a dose of Sabbath in the mix as well.
Catch up with the band on their MySpace page but have your phrasebook handy.
Mangrove – Endless Skies
This is the album that early Ozzie era Black Sabbath never got round to making. Happily Sweden’s Mangrove have stepped in and delivered an album that will have Sabbath fans, along with those of hard rock seventies style, foaming with excitement.
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