Continuing on from their debut ‘Goodbye Repentance’, Sweden’s Dead Lord further develop their own interpretation of their Thin Lizzy obsessed sound. When the band state that these are “10 songs of solid no-bogus, face melting, twin guitar, smart rock action” (caught your breath yet!), then you kind of know what to expect.
From the start, the warmth of the reel to reel recording shines through with ‘Farewell’ that has a real infectious melody. ‘Ruins’ figures a darker tone but still resides in all things in homage to that classic Irish band. I wouldn’t say it’s as close as the debut, it’s not a pure tribute, some would say it’s too much but there is a clear influence, yet every now and again, something like a riff or melody crops up that shows off Hakim Krim’s cool vocal and guitar style. ‘Cold Hearted Madness’ stretches into more classic’s 70’s rock and from the feel even some of the country rock from the US in the 70’s, it has that free flow easy feeling about it, a nice touch. For some more dual guitar driven riffs, then check out ‘No Regrets’…this track will please a lot of people.
For a major label debut, this could have gone horribly wrong, but thankfully Dead Lord have stuck to their guns and produced an album from the heart with so much feeling. I don’t know what I thought, but I expected something different and whilst it’s not going to march forward as being a totally original release, it is the feeling you get from this album that is its most rewarding feature. A good listen, a mood driven 70’s rock album that has a few flavours to it that we all know and love and it’s a more than reliable consistent album. Check it out!
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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