{"id":39796,"date":"2006-06-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/hardcore-superstar\/"},"modified":"2006-06-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-13T00:00:00","slug":"hardcore-superstar","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/hardcore-superstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardcore Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Witnessing the history of Hardcore Superstar’s
\ndevelopment as a band has mirrored watching a pendulum swing.<\/p>\n

In the late 90s, Hardcore Superstar made waves in
\ntheir home country of Sweden with the release of It’s Only Rock
\nn’ Roll<\/i>, an album that drew just enough on glam-influenced rock
\nacts like Hanoi Rocks and Motley Crue to get notable attention
\nabroad, leading to their signing to U.K and U.S. music labels.
\nWithout selling the band’s soul to the devil in the way the music
\nwas recorded and the way the band carried themselves imagewise,
\nMusic for Nations (U.K.) and later Koch Records (U.S.) made scant
\nadjustments to what was recorded on It’s Only Rock n’ Roll<\/i>
\nand repackaged the album under the Bad Sneakers And A Pina
\nColada<\/i> title.<\/p>\n

For the sake of the pendulum swing, let’s just say
\nthat Hardcore Superstar were at the top of the arc and ready to
\njump as the album received notable awareness to fans around the
\nglobe and showed great
\npotential<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Next came Thank You (For Letting Us Be
\nOurselves)<\/i> and No Regrets<\/i>, which saw the band nosedive
\nthrough the swing as vocalist Jocke Berg and his mates became
\nwrapped up in style over substance. The band’s music melted into
\nterritories that were perilously syrupy and overly ensconced in
\nglam stylings. To culminate matters, rumors circulated that the
\nband were finished in the summer of 2004 after guitarist Thomas
\nSilver and a Swedish journalist reportedly got into a fight at the
\nSwedish consulate in New York during a brief run of U.S. dates.<\/p>\n

Suffice it to say, the band quelled the break-up
\nrumors with their recent release of Hardcore Superstar<\/i>, an
\nalbum that is definitely more rock than schlock. The liner notes
\nlist current and local Gothenburg hard rock\/metal luminaries Ralf
\nGyllenhammar of Mustasch and Oscar Carlquist of RAM as contributing
\nbacking vocals on the disc, which is a pretty inspiring move, since
\nI’ve always maintained that Gyllenhammar packs a vocal wallop as a
\nmodern day Glenn Danzig disciple. Pair up the bite of these two
\nguests in tandem with the signature Jocke Borg melodies, and the
\npotential for Hardcore Superstar to sound strong throughout a full
\nrecording has never rated better.<\/p>\n

Wasting no time in testing this theory, the first
\ntrack on the album, “Kick On The Upperclass,” proves an appropriate
\nopening for a couple of reasons. Namely, it shows off the band’s
\nnew attitude while apparently gaining strength in its retribution
\ntowards the journalistic infidel who sparked the consulate
\nfiasco.<\/p>\n

The currently released singles “Wild Boys” and “We
\nDon’t Celebrate Sundays” champion Borg’s melodies the best while
\ninviting Silver and bassist Martin Sandvik to take more dominant
\nroles. Additionally, the gloom and doom approach to the stalled
\nbeat on “Hateful” works wonders in adding diversity to the overall
\nvibe on the album. These contributions share the undeniable rock
\nvision the band is now following.<\/p>\n

And those, my friends, are reasons enough for me to
\nclaim that Hardcore Superstar<\/i> is just the album to provide
\nthe necessary adrenaline for the band to successfully ride back up
\nthe pendulum swing. Playing to their strengths, Hardcore
\nSuperstar<\/i> is the album that should have been recorded years ago
\nas the follow up to Bad Sneakers And A Pina Colada<\/i> and gives
\nhope for bigger and better things to come.<\/p>\n

[To view streaming video of the “We Don’t Celebrate
\nSundays,” click here<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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