“Demons”

Stockholm Slump (Gearhead)
by Scott Hefflon

“Demons” just keep getting’ better! Swedish rock produced by Tomas Skogsburg (the Hellacopters, Gluecifer, Entombed, Backyard Babies, and plenty of muscle-car metal, baby), what else do you need to know? They look like greaser rockabilly dudes, write like glam/sleaze boyz, and they fuck shit up like all the Swede rock bands finally gettin’ their due. Speaking of which, the pure rock sound is thick and throaty, much like the Hellacopters’ best record, Payin’ the Dues, the one Skogsburg produced, and the one that’s taped on the flip of Backyard Babies’ Total 13 (probably one of the most consistent, tuneful, post-glam rock records since Appetite for Destruction, and them’s big words!), a tape I’ve had in my car for four years running cuz Skogsburg’s guitar sound, a fast car, and light traffic make roadtrips a blast, with or without reststop quickies.

Oh, Stockholm Slump, right… There’re hard-charging punk rock guitars skating close to metal-sounding (what, like Dropkick Murphys’ guitars are nancy-sounding?), and there’s often a real darkness in some of the tunes (the underbelly of sleaze has always been attractive and romantic, and Hanoi Rocks, early Crüe, and GN’R knew it well), but three-chord punk is probably where “Demons” focus lies. And with good reason; “Suburban Kid” and “Degeneration Hotel” are coke’n’jack’n’jack’n’coke classics (a line, a shot, a mixed chaser). Get this and realize how badly American rock bands are getting their asses kicked by Swedish rock bands, fuckin’-a right!
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