Crucified Barbara
In Distortion We Trust

In today's crowded rock/metal music scene, it is difficult to unearth worthy bands making their first appearance on the recording market. Most of the time, they are unfairly dismissed and snubbed with a few words by hurried reviewers from industry publications, busy praising the same four groups that belong to the untouchables class or discussing the new musical trends that drive the very young crazy.

This preamble serves to introduce the Crucified Barbara, a Swedish female band, significantly underrated by the serious and male-dominated rock-metal crowd, which unfortunately cannot accept that four girls can outperform many of their male colleagues. Moreover, anyone who has shown a certain interest or admiration has been immediately labeled as appreciating only their gentle appearance. As I mentioned, Crucified Barbara is a Swedish band hailing from prolific Stockholm. Their first album released is “In Distortion We Trust” from 2005, a perfect title that faithfully reflects what we will find inside the record.

Indeed, from the first notes, you understand their influences, namely a powerful hard rock contaminated with heavy metal. The sound wall produced by the quartet is truly substantial. Their skill in playing and singing is undeniable and even the musical solutions are never trivial, succeeding in creating varied and articulated songs despite their medium-short duration. The production of the album is very good; the individual instruments are well-heard, Mia Coldheart's voice is excellent both in the heavier parts and in the clean parts, and Mia along with Klara Force (second guitar) alternate executing deadly riffs and solos. A positive note concerns the bass: the role of bassist Ida Evileye is not overshadowed, the production has succeeded in making it “visible” despite the abrasive guitars. Finally, drummer Nicki Wicked is precise, not monotonous, and strikes the drums until the very last second.

If you are skeptical about their preparation, I recommend watching some of their live videos, you certainly won't be disappointed. It can be said without problems that everything works perfectly without any smudges. The CD flows smoothly, don't be surprised if you start nodding, tapping your foot, or drumming with your fingers, it's all perfectly normal. Often, it's said that rock is dead, at least those who lived through the golden period or narrow-minded purists say so. Because of this behavior, it's not possible to objectively judge new products from this genre, forcibly comparing them with the sacred monsters of the genre and obviously coming up defeated.

My advice is to listen to this record in one breath, without getting lost in thoughts of what rock was at its origins and what it is now and without making reckless comparisons. If you still haven't shed your prejudices and malice, I definitely recommend something else. From my side, full support for these fantastic rockers.

“Life is bitch and so am I, you see, I dedicate my love to a flying-V” - My Heart Is Black

1. "Play Me Hard (The Bachelor's Guitar)"
   
2. "In Distortion We Trust"
   
3. "Losing The Game"
4. "Motorfucker"
5. "I Need A Cowboy From Hell"
6. "My Heart Is Black"
   
7. "Hide 'Em All"
   
8. "Going Down"
   
9. "I Wet Myself"
   
10. "Rock'n'Roll Bachelor"
    
11. "Bad Hangover"

(N.B the 2006 edition contains the acoustic version of "My Heart Is Black", "Killed By The Queen" cover by Motorhead, and "Shout It Out Loud" cover by Kiss).