Emerging drug-addled and content so begins our arduous climb to the peak of the list, reclaiming the frost-covered Hammer of the North…
The fusion of classic metal riffs, blues and doom metal has been done before. I’m sure we can all agree. But there’s a spirit to this record that I just can’t place. I feel myself drawn to it time and again. Even when I’m feeling low, this album cheers me up. Not one for cheapening my metal, I even had the aforementioned riff from I, The Jury as my mobile phone ringtone for a time.
The masculine swagger that courses through the music reminds one of Tarot – but Tarot have never been sounded this creative. Even the devil-may-care approach to soloing – often gratuitously – has one lamenting for his guitar ability, cursing the faux-guitar resting atop their games console for allowing such chicanery. The soulful bellow of Janne “JB” Christofferson sounds old school yet fresh at the same time. Black Sails sounds like if Dio, Ritchie Sambora and Dave Murray got together – its doom metal with a pop-metal finish that sounds cunning and heavy as anything else. It’s madness to even think it, but the Grand Magus boys pull it off. It’s this strange case of Swedes imitating Americans imitating Britons and back again – elements of those Southern hard-driving blues riffs can be heard on the track Northern Star yet they fuse the NWOBHM style gang choruses within as well. Are these but mere mortal men or some manner of metal gods?
They’re the modern masters of the blazing gallop that still has that stoner rock “who gives a shit” attitude. It’s real cigarette in the tuning forks, sweaty rock and roll. Is it thinking biker’s music? Unpretentious progressive metal? Who knows! It’s so twisted you just end up smashing your brain up against opposite sides of your skull. You just can’t get enough of this record. A future classic to be sure.
---
...stay bookmarked for a NEW take on Top 10 lists...the self-critique!