Blind Dog
Captain Dog Logs Out

For those who are not aware, Blind Dog represents one of the many crimes committed by the music business in recent years; the Swedish band tied to stoner sounds was born in 1998 and first gave us "The Last Adventure Of Captain Dog" (2001) and later "Captain Dog Rides Again" (2003), both albums that shine with their own blinding light, yet went almost unnoticed; it's absurd how groups made up of mediocre musicians playing four chords are praised like rock stars, but what for? Boo (any reference to Tokio Hotel & company is purely coincidental).
Personally, I think true stars are something else, it's not just about selling millions of records, what really matters is the music and Blind Dog certainly know how to make it, so I consider them true champions of a movement that rebels against all of this by making the music they want, not compromising and to prove it, they give us this "Captain Dog Logs Out" (yes, the album is available for free download from their website http://www.blinddog.se - download area). Alas, they have decided to disband and so this is the last chapter that once again presents us with seven respectable pieces of damn Hard Rock, not a true swan song as I consider the first two chapters to be a cut above. As always, the sound is raw and retro, the bass once again represents the main instrument in Blind Dog, an unstoppable drive reminiscent of Mel Schacher of the great Grand Funk Railroad. Joakim Thell’s guitar churns out riffs one after the other with daunting ease, while the voice of Tobias Nilson (also the band's bassist) recalls both in timbre and tone that of J.B. (Grand Magus; Spiritual Beggars). It begins with "Riding Alone", an unusual piece for Blind Dog considering its three and a half minute duration, still enough to be catapulted into a claustrophobic Sabbathian atmosphere with a nod to "Children Of The Grave" towards the end. With "I've Escaped You So Far" the Swedish trio takes us by the hand to typically Hard Rock sounds, riff reminiscent of both Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin preludes a well-structured song punctuated by well-placed tempo changes. "Keep Up The Gloss" in my opinion echoes the great Thin Lizzy, the more frenetic ones of "Are You Ready" to be clear; the main feature in this piece is definitely Tobias' bass, which shines with a beautiful solo paving the way for Joakim’s solo, perfectly emulating Scott Gorham. "Sleeping Dog" on the other hand, is a slow-paced ride like the best Cathedral knew how to create, this piece serves as an interlude for the second part of the album which, with the subsequent and ambiguous "Astray", takes us down more refined paths, starting with a late-sixties Brit-pop rhythm and melody, in the chorus it sounds like listening to a dark band and ends with a hefty riff, what's surprising is how everything is perfectly blended, listen to believe. Continuing the listening, we encounter "When The Whole Thing Blows" a true gem of the album, here are present all the stylistic elements of Blind Dog that make their song unique, I won’t try to describe it, I would like you to discover it. Now at the end of the album, it’s up to "Help You From Yourself" to give us the last goodbye, and they do it in the best way, a moving ballad not because it's sappy and melancholic, no, it's not their style, on the contrary, this piece conveys positive and joyful sensations. In short, they say goodbye with a laugh. Goodbye Blind Dog.