Greenleaf
Agents Of Ahriman

"(..)It all started in 1999: Daniel and I were out one night drinking beer in some crappy pub in our city. I had known Daniel for a few years; he was the drummer for Demon Cleaner with whom we, Dozer, had done a bunch of gigs. Anyway, that night at the pub, we were talking about how much we love the old '70s rock: the sounds, the grooves, the simple fun of playing what we feel. So after quite a few beers, we decided to form a band." (Tommy Hollappa).

That's how Greenleaf was born, Swedish, all hailing from other bands, even those who take turns with each album, and all devoted to playing stoner.

"Agents of Ahriman", their fourth album, released in 2007, is not a revolutionary, innovative album, with no contamination or experimentation. Just stoner: a decidedly vintage sound with a lo-fi production that scatters dust here and there (alas, they age the sound... they don't have the money to play with vintage gear), '70s guitar solos, melodic singing, but aggressive and nonchalant, the omnipresent shadow of psychedelia and a few slips into heavier and darker tones.. But all this is written, played, and sung by talented musicians, who really get together in Greenleaf in the spare moments between commitments with their respective bands. And you can feel it.. you can feel that they have a blast and enjoy playing in this band like crazy; so much so that many tracks almost seem improvised during recording.. (especially "Treehorn").

I avoid the list of "bands they are inspired by," or "influences that characterize them" because it is something I hate reading in reviews (N.B: the vocal imitations of Ozzy are nothing more than a tribute, therefore absolutely intentional).

Yes, I know: there are those who say that stoner is old stuff, that no one plays it anymore, "après les Kyuss, le déluge," heard one band heard them all... who the hell cares about that nonsense! Where there's taste there's no loss, and these guys are really good ("Alishan Mountain" I love it.. try staying still and not bouncing around!)

I have all four albums and I'll buy the fifth one (they're recording the guitars, can't wait!), because they totally resonate with me, sincere and true to their project.. They don't betray, maybe they don't surprise, but if you like the genre, they will surely be appreciated..

Nina.