THE VOID

BEARDFISH have consistantly put out some incredible albums over the years to the point where they have become one of my favourite bands out of Sweden. They do it differently than my favourite Swedish bands like ANEKDOTEN, ANGLAGARD, SINKADUS and LANDBERK but they are so freaking talented. Early on it was their Zappa-like humour and flavour along with the killer instrumental work that drew me in and all these years later I would say those are the things that still appeal to me along with the exceptional lyrics. As others have noted this one has some heaviness to it not heard in earlier releases, but that's just a couple of tracks for those who might be scared off by the "Metal" tag being thrown around.

"Introduction" is a narration piece spoken by none other than Andy Tillison as he relates to us up the concept in 30 seconds. "Voluntary Slavery" hits us with outbursts of drums as the guitar grinds away. Heavy stuff. It's almost doom-like a minute in then the vocals come in including a growly "Do you believe in alchemy ?" after 2 minutes. This is BEARDFISH ? Great sounding track ! Gotta love the instrumental section starting around 4 minutes. A calm a minute later with reserved vocals. "Turn To Gravel" continues with the low end guitar and doomy sound as the vocals join in. So good. It does settle back and turns lighter 1 1/2 minutes in as contrasts continue. The lyrics are so good here. Killer track. "They Whisper" sounds like classic BEARDFISH to me. It's melodic with those familiar vocals. Some passionate vocals at times. "This Matter Of Mine" opens with some nasty guitar as the rest of the band kicks in hard. Great sound ! Vocals before a minute as it settles back a little. I keep thinking of how good this would all sound in a live setting. Nice laid back section before 4 minutes that lasts almost a minute. "Seventeen Again" is completely different with prominant piano and bass as the drums beat away. Almost jazzy really. This is an instrumental by the way. The organ leads for an extended period. An okay track but my least favourite.

"Ludwig & Sverker" makes up for it. An 8 minute ride that is so blissful. They actually include a piano version of this as a bonus track because it's so good. "He Already Lives In You" opens with the sound of water as keyboards join in then it builds. It turns heavier around a minute then the organ becomes prominant. A calm with vocals follow as contrasts continue. Sampled words 3 minutes in from a preacher. Then it kicks in hard with organ leading the way. "Note" is the longest track at over 16 minutes. It opens with the sound of someone writing then it kicks in with vocals. A very cool uptempo tune. "So I find myself staring straight into the sun" is a line repeated often. Such a proggy tune with deep bass lines. Love this song. "Where The Lights Are Low" opens with some interesting guitar before the vocals come in which sound different because it's the keyboardist singing at first before the main vocalist arrives. A few F-bombs in this relaxed track. A great way to end the album.

Man this is such a good album, close to being 4.5 stars for me. A solid 4 stars for now though.