*Hisingen: the fourth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland and Orust), with an area of 199 km2 (77 sq mi), and the most populous, forming part of Gothenburg Municipality, Västra Götaland” County.

Blues: a style of music known for its soulful and sometimes sorrowful emotive quality. Vocally as well as through various instruments, with a deeply rich history in music.

Hisingen Blues is a warm, fuzzy, blanket of 70’s hard rock and blues woven together with deft skill and ability. Nine medium-or-so-length tracks full of old school bliss delivered in analog for the modern age. Lyrics near perfectly drenched in blues swagger, singing of downtrodden acceptance, or pondering on the state of existence, and touching on the sorting of feelings and thoughts. One could easily compare this album to many a band that has kept the torch going with this style of music born decades past, but there is something really special about this release and the amount of respect they show for the history and artists that makes it as impressive as it is admirable. Listening to this album (if not for the production) could pass for being recorded in the seventies. With a little backwards-masking here and a chorus calling for Lucifer’s hand (that will stick in your head for days) there. Resonant, soulful, vocal-harmonies with hand claps and lyrics like “people ask me what is wrong…I don’t see what’s right”.

Obviously I like the vocals. Perhaps my favorite thing to listen to on this album after many listens now: the vocals. From the use of backing vocals sung sparingly in places to just give it that extra emotive, special quality. Or on the song “Longing”:  whistling. Beautiful, semi-despairing colorful whistling along a soft building vast Sergio Leone soundscape complete with an organ towards the end. The last song “The Siren” starts with some clean chord strumming and nothing but vocals eventually ripping into a full-band storming Hendrixian chorus of “tonight a demon came into my heeeadddd…ohhhalrighhhttt and tried to choke me in my sleep.”

So what about the fretwork you ask? What of guitar wizardry? Is it up to snuff? It’s fan-fucking-tastic! There are molten hot licks aplenty here. From fast nimble-fingered acrobatics, to plodding tightly woven pumping cascades, and delicate resonating moody phrasings. You’ll hear a little bit of everything old played anew, and with mastery.

Everywhere on the delivery of nearly every aspect Graveyard step themselves forward among so many bands that have played or are playing a similar style. Hisingen Blues establishes them without a doubt as one of the best of this style and making a solid identity in the proccess.

*wikipedia.org

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Ain't Fit to Live Here
2.  No Good, Mr. Holden
3.  Hisingen Blues
4.  Uncomfortably Numb
5.  Buying Truth (Tack og Förlåt)
6.  Longing
7.  Ungrateful are the Dead
8.  Rss
9.  The Siren

Total playing time:  39:28

Release Date: March 25, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Graveyard - Hisingen Blues

Reviewer: Greg

June 9, 2011