SNOIt’s been quite a while since I heard anything from these Swedish stoners, having long ago acquired their second album, 2008’s ‘Constants in an Ever Changing Universe’, and missing out on catching 2013’s ‘Salvation’. So, with the best part of a decade of development between the one release of theirs I was familiar with and this new release, how does the sound of the band stack up?

Opener ‘The Fever’ starts with a heavy bass line that promises a journey to a world of fuzz, but after the first couple of bars the sound becomes practically poppy by comparison, and it would not be beyond the realms of imagination to envisage the ensuing bouncy sound having a Glastonbury crowd dancing along mid afternoon in their overpriced love beads and wellies, unaware that it wasn’t some trendy new “Indie” band but rather a bunch of seasoned rockers (how I hate that title “Indie”, and I’m sorry to SNO for using it in a review of their album!). Fortunately, follow up track ‘Welcome Home’ ups the tempo with a chugger of a track tailor made to be the soundtrack to long drives through the desert; imagine if you will, Foo Fighters, but with their testicles back in place.

‘Into The Fire’ is another fist pumping anthem, and if the likes of Volbeat ever want an opening act more appropriate to their fans then the last time I saw them live in Glasgow (Hatebreed? Oh for fucks sakes!), SNO could be the perfect match. ‘Don’t Blame The Demons’ has a fuzzier sound more in tune with their earlier roots, but still has running through it a solid beat to rock out to, whilst ‘Superior #1’ throws some sleaze into the mix for those in the world who still like to squeeze into skinny jeans and accessorise their well lacquered hair with a bandanna and plenty of eye liner. Hints of grunge fleck ‘Stone Crazy’ whilst the stoner sound is turned up in the seven minute plus ‘I, The Servant’, the mix of styles and influences coming to a close with the album’s title track ‘The Machine, The Devil & The Dope’, a track that starts with a lonely, howling slide guitar before the rest of the band swaggers in transmutes the sound into one of simple hard rock, complete with a bombastic rhythm section and a hook laden chorus.

In interviews the band have admitted planning to create nothing more than a hard rock album based along the lines of what they love to play and listen to themselves, and in that respect, they have succeeded admirably. ‘The Machine, The Devil & The Dope’ may not suit those who long for the grimm and kvlt, but if you just want to bang your head and pump your fist in the air with a couple of pints and uncomplicated rock, this is the album for you.

(7/10 Spenny)

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