Greenleaf: Echoes From A Mass

Originally forming back in the late 90’s, Sweden’s Greenleaf play a form of stoner rock that clearly leans fairly heavily on US giants of that era such as Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss, although there are also stylistic nods to fellow countrymen such as Spiritual Beggars. The band seems to have a revolving line-up based around mainstay guitarist Tommi Holappa, and Echoes From A Mass is their seventh album.

The album title and the start of opening track “Tides� seem to indicate a strong space rock feel, with its reverberating main riff and layered lead and harmony vocals, but the song doesn’t really develop beyond this. The band seem to have the ingredients for a strong album- songs with a good groove, clear strident vocals from Arvid Hällagård and some good solo work from Holappa, but many of the songs seem to be going through the motions a bit, enjoyable enough whilst listening to but not that memorable. They score most highly when deviating from the formula a bit; “Bury Me My Son� slows things down a little with a powerful main riff, has more of an epic feel and some interesting breakdowns in the middle; “March On Hallowed Ground� has a bit more of a melodic flourish and a strong chorus, whilst closer “What Have We Become� is a sombre, pulsing tune, initially low-key but with some effective symphonic flourishes and layered vocals as it reaches a rousing conclusion.

Ultimately, this is a decent enough album, although I don’t think, taken as a whole, it really does enough to stand out from the crowd as a ‘must have’ even for devoted fans of the stoner rock genre.

Tracklist:
01. Tides
02. Good God I Better Run Away
03. Needle in My Eye
04. Love Undone
05. Bury Me My Son
06. A Hand of Might
07. March on Higher Grounds
08. Hang On
09. On Wings of Gold
10. What Have We Become

Added: August 21st 2021
Reviewer: Tom De Val
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 773
Language: english

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