HARDWARES

Groove Magus, or Not-So-Grand Magus might be a more fitting moniker for the Swedes’ latest. Gone is the bludgeoning power (they ditched the stoner/doom element long ago), replaced by a mainstream 70s hard rock melody. At times JB recalls Paul Stanley (KISS) and the music follows a similar path, mixed with early Y&T bluesiness (‘Silver Moon’). Is it recognizable as GRAND MAGUS? Sure, but a far cry from, nor as immediately likeable (hummable?) as the likes of ‘Iron Will’, ‘I, The Jury’, ‘Hammer Of The North’ or ‘Like The Oar Strikes The Water’. Only the next-to-last (and shortest, at 3:44) ‘Iron Hand’ comes close to matching the upbeat tempo found on the last two platters (both of which ended up on my Best Of, year-end lists). Apart from the chorus, single ‘Valhalla Rising’ is a belabored piece, while ‘Son Of The Last Breath’ is a two-part tale of Thor. Part I, aka ‘Nattfödd’ consists of almost four minutes of acoustic guitar and violin duet, with smooth/clean vocals/ voiceovers from the mainman/guitarist, before the full band joins in on Part II: ‘Vedergällning’. The title cut also starts with a bit of acoustic six-string. The concluding ‘Draksådd’ (Swedish for dragon’s teeth) features double tracked vocals, before concluding in a fade-out of yet more acoustic guitar. A trio of demo versions (for tracks found elsewhere, in finalized form) are included as a bonus, bringing the song count to an even dozen.