Knogjärn : "'Mera Bedövning"

 The nu-metal revival is extending is reach as far as Sweden. Much  like the glory days of the genre, there is still a glimmer of hard core. When I first saw Korn on their tour for their debut album, they were opening up for Sick of it All.The first song leans into this with a great deal of groove. The more thrash focused second song, defaults to a Myspace metal melodic hook for the chorus and prove to not be as effective. After this they split the difference between the two modes of song writing, groove vs intensity. The vocals delivered in a more spite fire fashion that brings bands like Machine Head and Soulfly. Before you bring up the fact that based on the fact I cover more doom or black metal than this kind of middle of the road affair, you might wanna take note of the fact that the last Soulfly album i regarded as one of the year's best released. 

Many of these songs began to sound the same , though there are some strong moments when they stumble upon solid grooves and hooks . i think the need to prove themselves with some of these more thrashing riffs, might thwart some of their better songwriting. This works more often than not on "Vad du an Behover". They are capable of tapping into a smart melodic side that has pop sensibilities in the best way possible, due to the fact this side of the band cares about the songs. Aside from the fact they sing in their native tongue , I think when they lean into this they have more potential to crossover into American audiences. "FEL'  Feels like it could have come from the 90s, however this was a great time for music so it works. i prefer the album's darker moments than when they go to the same well of thrashing groove too many times. 

i am however fine with these guys going to the well of moodier melody as many times as they want when they open"Akta Dig". it gives a contrast to the primal pounding that tends to dominate things and helps with the overall scope of dynamics. The frantic nature of the last song reminds me of System of  a Down's first album, and while it works for those guys, I am not sure the point it serves here. Overall I think these guys have a great deal of potential and I appreciate what they are doing here, so I will give this album an 8.