Here we have yet another Scandinavian band doing a superb job at delivering retro '70s hard rock sounds in the grand tradition of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Budgie, Grand Funk Railroad, KISS, and Led Zeppelin. Greenleaf have been around since 2000 and have a string of releases to their credit, though this is the first time I have come across them. Trails and Passes is their fourth release for Small Stones Recordings, and it's a doozy, filled with tasty riffs, plenty of heavy grooves, and the excellent Jim Morrison-meet-Ozzy styled vocals of Arvid Jonsson. "Equators" sees guitarist Tommi Holappa firing off some sizzling blues drenched heavy rock solos and crushing riffs that bridge psychedelia with proto-metal, and the lumbering "Humans" contains massive grooves to die for, showing that Greenleaf can pack a boatload of feel into their heavy rock attack. The ominous "With Eyes Wide Open" bridges early Pink Floyd with Sabotage era Black Sabbath for a chilling effect, and crunchy, bluesy, funky tracks "Our Mother Ash", "The Drum", "Ocean Deep", and "Bound to Be Machines" just scream 1975.
From the songwriting, to the musicianship, right down to the vocals, Trails and Passes is a very strong & enjoyable album from start to finish. Anyone who follows modern hard rock acts such as Graveyard, Witchcraft, Graviators, Kadavar, and Horisont will no doubt find much to love here.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Our Mother Ash
2. Ocean Deep
3. Equators
4. Depth Of The Sun
5. Humans
6. With Eyes Wide Open
7. The Drum
8. Bound To Be Machines
9. Trails & Passes
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