Review Summary: Something tells me Robert Plant has an illegitimate son somewhere in Sweden.
The first thing that will most likely come to the listeners mind when first delving into
Hisingen Blues is that they’ve landed in a mythical place where John Bonham is still alive and Led Zeppelin hasn’t yet broken up. This is not the case, however. Graveyard, a four piece blues-psychadelic rock band from Sweden, bring us their second full length and while it’s very reminiscent of the 60’s/70’s era blues/psychedelic hard rock it also has its own modern twist on the classic sound. Before getting too hasty and pointing fingers, let’s discuss the fact that Graveyard is not a blues rock version of Airbourne. Lead singer Joakim Nilsson might sound like Robert Plant and the band might be trying their hardest to pay homage to all those great 60-70’s rock bands, but the honest fact is that they’ve created their own album and it rocks hard.
From the opening drum roll of “Ain’t Fit To Live Here” to the closing notes of “The Siren”,
Hisingen Blues pays homage to the many great rock n’ roll acts of the blues/psychedelic rock era. Lead singer Nilsson sings like an angsty Robert Plant at times and between his vocals we see the rest of the Zeppelin influence shine through. To only compare them to famous music acts would be a crime however, as Graveyard themselves, are a talented bunch.
Blues is filled with thick blues riffs, howling vocals and quality drumming. Jonatan Ramm, the bands lead guitarist, recently joined the band and with him brings an ever present talent for writing great solos. Mostly noticable in the middle section of the album, Ramm’s best solos can be found on the fifth track “Buying Truth” where he plays with an almost whiskey-induced swagger perfect for those small Gothenburg bars that Graveyard will undoubtedly tour through in support of this album. Aside from Zeppelin, Graveyard shows inspiration from Pink Floyd in periods throughout the album; notably in the sixth track, “Longing”. While they did name one of their songs indirectly after Pink Floyd (“Uncomfortably Numb”), they don’t take as much inspiration from their style as other major bands from the same period. The albums closer can also be considered the best song off the album. With a six minute playtime, it’s the album’s second longest song and one that goes through the most tempo changes. With Ramm’s guitar playing to Nilsson’s ever changing demeanor while singing, “The Siren” is a perfect closer to not only the bands second album, but their first album with metal label Nuclear Blast.
Graveyard might not be the perfect band or the most inventive one, but in an ever present time where some wished Led Zeppelin would get back together or that we somehow would come across lost material from bands of that era, we have bands like this to depend on. With a singer that sounds like Robert Plant and an abundance of thick bluesy riffs, Graveyard was able to yet again create another album of nostalgia and memories from the days of yore.
