Graveyard: Lost in Confusion

Excellent. The Doors meet Witchcraft meet The Cult meet Danzig. Leave it to the Swedish...love this band. Here's LOST IN CONFUSION by GRAVEYARD. From their one and only selt-titleed debut album...hope they have many more.

GRAVEYARD

I don't know what it is about Sweden. The country continues to crank out one brilliant retro/psych/doom rock/metal band after another, such as Witchcraft and Troubled Horse. I just discovered another excellent Swedish band called Graveyard. Their music is exceptional...it's filled with your usual retro Pentagram, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath worship, but these guys add a modern, driving touch to their music as well. The vocal delivery is akin to a cross Glen Danzig, Ian Astbury of The Cult, and Jim Morrison. The music reminds of the heavy, starry eyed, retro rock of The Cult and also Glen Danzig's solo work at times. The guitar playing is fuzzed out, psychedelic, and euphoric, reminding me of the guitar work of Monster Magnet and space rock gods Hawkwind at times.

Anyway, Graveyard has one self titled album that came out in 2008. I just purchased it this morning and comes highly recommended. Here's the first track, "Evil Ways". I'm sure you will enjoy.

HERMANO: "...INTO THE EXAM ROOM"

"Into the Exam Room" (2007) is Hermano's third and strongest studio release. Hermano are an excellent band led by ex-Kyuss singer John Garcia. Their music strays away from the stoner metal of Kyuss, exploring the many aspects of 1960's and 1970's psychedelic rock & metal instead. They are equal parts Led Zeppelin, Cream, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath. John Garcia's vocals are in top form, smooth and plaintive when they need to be, and dead on heavy whenever the music calls for it. "Into the Exam Room" has a high gloss 1970's production, and the feel of this album reminds me at times of the starry eyed retro rock of The Cult. All the tracks are great, as the song writing maintains a strong balance between melody and heaviness. Highly recommended, and here's a few of my favorite tracks.

THE CULT: "ELECTRIC"

The Cult's "Electric"(1987) is one of my all time favorite albums. It is quite possibly The Cult's best effort, and my personal favorite of theirs. Parting from their goth-rock past, "Electric" is straight ahead, heavy, unpretentious, starry-eyed, libido driven 1970's blues rock. Rick Rubin's production gives the album a glossy, yet heavy and fiery sound. Ian Astbury's vocals and Billly Duffy's guitar work are scorching, and the songwriting is incredible. A few of my favorite tracks are "Wildflower" and "Lil' Devil". All tracks are extremely addictive, however. The only song I could do without is their cover of "Born to Be Wild". All in all, "Electric" is a ferocious, adrenaline fueled, classic rock and roll album that should not be missed by anyone. Highly recommended.

Here's "Lil' Devil" and "Wildflower". Enjoy.

DANZIG 2: LUCIFUGE

"Danzig 2: Lucifuge" (1990) . This is my favorite Danzig solo effort of all time. Anybody familiar with his work with The Misfits and Samhain will know that his solo material is good but not up to par with his early stuff. This album, however, is an exception.

Everything you love about Danzig is here. The dark, horror inspired lyrics and his incredible Elvis meets Jim Morrison voice. The difference is, instead of drawing on punk and goth, he draws on the blues and '70's blues rock. This album is every bit as potent and energetic as any of his work with Samhain or The Misfits.

The song writing is incredible. There's straight blues ("Killer Wolf" and" I'm the One"), a 1950's crooner ("Blood and Tears"), early AC/DC libido driven blues rock ("Devil's Plaything"), and just pure campy shock fests ("Long Way Back From Hell" and "Snakes of Christ"). The production by Rick Rubin is top notch. It brings to mind the same retro feel as The Cult's "Electric".

If you've ever had any doubts about Danzig's solo material give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.

Here's "Devil's Plaything" and "Killer Wolf".