I first came to know Sweden’s brilliant Hellsingland Underground on the release of their third album, 2012’s majestic Evil Will Prevail. It was love at first listen and I immediately bought it on vinyl, along with their first two albums on CD, and I also developed a friendly rapport with some of the guys in the band. What struck me instantly was how familiar their sound was, and yet how fresh it was at the same time. On the first track of Evil Will Prevail, “Singing While The World Dies”, Charlie Granberg sings, “we made the music feel new”. And that’s exactly what they do. Never a wasted note, the songs this band produce are pure perfection. And yet, it never feels overthought. There is a heavy 70’s classic rock vibe in their sound (think Allmans, Stones, Dylan, Bruce) but with a 21st century mentality. Granberg sings from experience and his lyrics are both personal and thought provoking. He tells stories, and very compelling ones, never reliant on complex metaphors - he lays his cards right on the table and they are both fascinating and relatable. Based on my conversations with him, they are pretty much all true. Many of those same stories, I have lived myself, so I get it. That’s the best part.
As the band gears up to release their fifth album, they graciously bestowed upon us this vinyl release of 2010’s Madness And Grace. While their self titled debut basically spelled it out right on the spot, this album kicks it up a notch, both in the energy of the songs and the songs themselves. “The Spark That Never Dies” kicks off the album with pure energy and tales of youthful abandon, and is one that I have actually performed live on several occasions. “Shuffle Day To Day” and “Forever Damned” keep the momentum going before the acoustic “Vera” brings all the feels, sung from the point of view of a woman who is 100 years old and has seen it all. “Church Bells Through The Valley” takes all the power of a Springsteen song and - dare we say - perfects it. “Stickin’ With You” is a fun ditty, with banjos and the whole deal, and the band stretches out on “Diabolic Greetings From The Woods”, sounding like the Allman Brothers Band’s evil twin.
Speaking of which, the dual guitar work of Peter Henriksson and (the recently departed) Mats Olsson define this band’s sound, each playing off of the other like teeth in a zipper. Only the Allmans and moe. have a more fluid twin-guitar lineup. Totally badass.
Elsewhere on the album is the gritty “Full Buck Moon”, and the epic, self-explanatory “Debauchery”. “A Short Time In The Sun” brings it back home and makes you truly appreciate the time you have on this planet. Closing out the album is the title track, a mini epic of sorts that ties in the overall theme of this album, which is to look back at your life from your current perspective and not critique it but appreciate it. All of it. A gut-wrenchingly beautiful way to close out a magnificent album.
While their debut announced their arrival, this album is where they proved that they mean business. Point made. The craziest part is - their next album was ten times better.
This new reissue, packaged in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with a nice inner sleeve and pressed on heavyweight vinyl, sounds phenomenal. I will admit that the recent vinyl reissue of their debut sounded a bit flat, in the mastering department, so I was a little bit concerned about this one. However, this platter sounds like liquid gold.
This now happily completes my HU vinyl collection and I can spin these discs madly until album #5 comes along , hopefully later this year (when, Charlie, when??). While I am drooling in anticipation for that one, these first four slabs of wax will do me just fine.
And they will do you fine too. Check this band out NOW.
