It's been six years since A Distant Dream Of Tomorrow, but the Swedish trio of Magnus Jernström (guitars), Fredrik Broqvist (drums), and Jani Kataja (vocals, bass, organ), better known as Mangrove, have finally returned with a new platter of molten proto-metal/heavy blues rock/psychedelic hard rock for Transubstans Records, this one titled Days of the Wicked. If you loved their previous output, which paid musical homage to classic acts such as Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Rush, and Led Zeppelin, this latest is no different, those bluesy, fuzz-laden riffs, smoldering wah-wah laced solos, high pitched vocals, and piledriving rhythms ever present with massively heavy songs that are instantly memorable.
"Gambler" kicks things off in grand fashion, a groove laden, heavy riff fest with a great hook, and it doesn't let up one bit throughout Days of the Wicked, with the galloping "Into the Light", the slow, doom & blues dirge of the title track, the Sabbath styled stomp of "Mangronaut", or the Blue Cheer on steroids crusher "Demonspirit". The first real break from the mostly bruising tempo heard throughout the album is the psych/prog cut "Drift Away", complete with some quirky, lilting guitar chords and plenty of atmosphere before some lumbering heavy riffs briefly come into play. "In the Shade" takes things to an even mellower direction, as beautiful, folky guitar patterns, organ, and a tasty electric guitar solo allow the listener to come down a little from all the heaviness that came before it.
Retro sounding heavy blues rock/metal/psych/hard rock doesn't get much better than this folks, and once again, it just seems that consistently the best '70s flavored music just continues to flow out of Sweden. Mangrove prove once again that they are the real deal!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Gambler
2. Different Pages (of Life)
3. Into the Light
4. Days of the Wicked
5. Mangronaut
6. Demonspirit
7. Drift Away
8. In the Shade
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