When hard rock bands noticeably change their sound from one
\nalbum to another there will always be fans that are quick to
\ncriticize the evolution of the new music. Rightfully so, it can be
\nargued, as some of the time this generally marks a sign that a band
\nhas lost its way or never was on a track to begin with.<\/p>\n
But what if for some strange reason, a fresh new sound and style
\nis uncovered? More importantly, what if the band has yet to break
\nfrom its “underground” status and reach the masses for true
\njudgment? Would it then really matter?<\/p>\n
This is a debate for the ages and I won’t begin to even attempt
\nto offer suggestions of right or wrong. Truthfully, I’ve sided both
\nways over the years depending on the artist but I’m here to say
\nthat in the case of
\nHigh Visibility<\/i>, the fourth full length studio album by
\nSweden’s leading punk turned hard rock act, The Hellacopters, it is
\neasily their most slickly produced and accessible effort to date.
\nBuilding off of the album’s predecessor,
\nGrande Rock<\/i>, this album is a showcase for the band’s new
\nguitarist Robert Dahlqvist. Nicknamed “Strings,” this blonde haired
\naxeman is given the opportunity to throw hook after hook at the
\naudience, building around the lyrics of frontman and rhythm
\nguitarist Nick Royale.<\/p>\n
Also, conspicuously present are the backing organs and piano
\nwork of Boba Fett. The result is a smoothly calculated and eclectic
\narrangement of medleys tied in to an anthemic chorus of songs.<\/p>\n
With the departure of former lead guitarist Dregen (who left to
\ngive his full efforts to his band the Backyard Babies), the new
\nhard rock Hellacopters maintain their ability to keep their
\nsongwriting approach “full throttle” in nature as they forge away
\nfrom their punk roots. The first track from the
\nHigh Visibility<\/i> album, “Hopeless Case Of A Kid In Denial” is
\nlyrically tied to the all so common theme of teen angst and
\nrebellion and is a reflection of the in-your-face type song that is
\nassociated with past Hellacopters efforts. The following tracks,
\n“Baby Borderline,” “Sometimes I Don’t Know” and “Toys and Flavors”
\nwill bring any avid listener to the brink of personal embarrassment
\nas they attempt to hone their air guitar and vocal techniques.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, I will say that after giving this disc several
\nspins, it is easy to marvel at the band’s ability to seemingly take
\nthe same song and, in this case, record it thirteen different ways.
\nThe songs are very good, mind you, it is just that this observation
\nis a likely reflection of the band’s rough edges being stripped
\naway during the album’s production in favor of the new tighter and
\npolished sound the band is going after.<\/p>\n
While it’s refreshing that there is a band out there today that
\nremembers how to rock and play their instruments to capacity, it is
\nunfortunate that the sound is far from mainstream. In this world of
\nsecond rate rap-metal bands controlling the hard rock scene and
\nairwaves, an album like
\nHigh Visibility<\/i> is truly a breath of fresh air for listeners
\nlonging for sounds reminiscent of the Seventies era style of rock
\nand roll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":26900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6831],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38200","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-hellacopters","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38200"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}