Graveyard
Innocence & Decadence

The "rock revival" from Scandinavia. Several bands and many names have emerged, giving hope for a sort of niche 70s rock "renaissance." Bands that have gradually established themselves: in Sweden, Witchcraft and Graveyard have garnered more favor from the audience and critics than others. The creation of Joakim Nilsson (guitar and vocals) made a "splash" with "Hisingen Blues" (2011).

Vintage stinking rock infused with blues and doom-like sections: if these elements came together very well especially in the first two works, by "Lights Out" (2012) our guys had already aimed at a rawness of songwriting, made up of short pieces channeled into "song form." That path continues in the latest "Innocence & Decadence," preceded by the rather unremarkable single "The Apple & The Tree", flat and lacking punch, with uninspired vocal lines. The same negative characteristics permeate several tracks on the album, slipping away without the biting imprint that had made us fall in love with Graveyard in the past: the opener "Magnetic Shunk" works perfectly and immediately sets itself as one of the hits of the work, but the journey is a continuous up and down between very good things like "From A Hole In The Wall" with accompanying blast beat and other forgettable episodes that do not do justice to a group like the Swedish one ("Never Theirs To Sell," "Exit 97," "Hard-Headed"). When Nilsson and company return to the slow rhythms of past pieces like "Siren Song" (just to name one), the best parts of the album come out, placed at the end of it: the pair of ballads "Far Too Close" and "Stay For A Song" restore the group's nostalgic genuineness, which for long stretches of "Innocence & Decadence" seemed completely vanished.

The band of "Hisingen Blues" has arrived at their first half misstep, at least compared to what was done before. "Innocence & Decadence" has all the classic elements so dear to the Swedes, but it simply lacks quality, that "basement" songwriting that permeated the first two albums. Now these Scandinavians are awaited at the gate, the next work could tell a lot, perhaps everything.

1. "Magnetic Shunk" (3:01)
2. "The Apple & The Tree" (3:05)
3. "Exit 97" (3:51)
4. "Never Theirs To Sell" (2:17)
5. "Can't Walk Out" (5:44)
6. "Too Much Is Not Enough" (4:38)
7. "From A Hole In The Wall" (3:47)
8. "Cause & Defect" (3:48)
9. "Hard-Headed" (3:11)
10. "Far Too Close" (4:43)
11. "Stay For A Song" (4:36)