The Hellacopters : "Overdriver"

Not the first time I have reviewed these guys. I always forget that despite their Entombed connection they are just a rock n roll band. This album feels more like lost classics from 70s rock radio. The singer places his voice in all the right places to compensate for his limitations which is a skill in and of itself, as the melodies work really well, and everyone in this band is serving the song with zero overplaying. Granted if you mainly listen to punk all of this might seem like overplaying to your ears, but it works for what is going on here regardless. I can hear less dramatic traces of Meatloaf, but aside from perhaps a little ELO, I do not hear them heavily tipping their hat to their influences. 

"Wrong Face On" is more straightforward than my rock n roll tastes lean, but for what it is they do a good job of it, it's just not my thing. However, I like the darker vibe that creeps into the verses of "Solider On" which is more to my liking even if the chorus touches on southern rock, weird coming from Sweden. They reach a more middle-of-the-road place on the rather upbeat "Doomsday Dreams" which has some great guitar playing, and if you are into guitar solos it's the song to check out. It is a song that grows on me with each listen. You can also tell they are into Thin Lizzy on "Faraway Looks", not the album's best song, but once again they are effective at what they are going for here. 

"Coming Down" is the first song that comes closer to being a ballad, though it's still upbeat enough to stay rooted in rock, the mood is just more introspective, almost like Bad Company in this regard. "Do You Feel Normal" finds the chorus a little too hopeful for what my mood normally is , but these guys are masters of their craft so it's hard to argue against that. "The Stench" starts off in a darker vein not unlike "She's So Heavy". The thicker bass line to the last song brings more rock grit than the bulk of this album works off of. I'll give this a 9.5, sounds like this is going to be the rock record to beat this year. 

pst46