Mando Diao
Hurricane Bar

THE REVIEW

Sweden 2004. Captain's log
Tuesday: We've been sailing towards Scandinavia, keeping the same course for several weeks now. When I left Italy with my crew in search of interesting sounds, I never thought the journey would be so arduous. The last few days have been the hardest. Part of the crew has shown signs of imbalance at the call of the ancient songs of the "Hives" echoed for hours and hours. Even worse happened at the call of the sirens, singing "Mayhem" songs, which drove many sailors to throw themselves into the open sea out of despair. After the "Nightwish" calls hit us last night, the few survivors, including myself, have lost all hope. I slowly advance my caravel, now resigned that the next musical echo will give us the sweet death and finally put an end to this agony.

Wednesday: This morning the air was cooler than usual, a couple of seagulls kept us company... it seems a good sign, I rely on the help of God. The food supplies are about to run out.

Thursday: We heard chanting from afar... they sang "Cut the rope!!!" it was a good chorus, my second in command told me they are called Mando Diao and they are Swedish. It's a great song, short but good, almost punk. Let's hope for the best, I trust in a better tomorrow.

Friday: I didn't sleep all night, I couldn't... I kept singing the chorus of "God Knows", beautiful, my second in command told me it's the first single... wonderful, simple but effective solos. Okay, maybe we have something here.

Saturday: today the whole crew started dancing to the notes of "clean town", "down in the past" and "you can't steal my love", three masterpieces... the latter is for me the best song by Mando Diao ever, very rock, the album continues relentlessly and gives us song after song all hits that could be first singles of all the other calls I've heard in recent days FUCK YEAHHH

Sunday: there was a strike.

Monday: HELL YEAH YESSS this album is freakishly awesome, "added family" is fabulous with "white wall" an amazing mosh pit started, the shouted chorus of "all my senses" conveys pure adrenaline, this is a great group with a hell of a lot of talent, damn guys!!! and the musical qualities are evident ("ringing bells")

Tuesday: the album ends with "Next to be Lowered" the only slow track along with the aforementioned. Very beautiful, gives chills, Mando alternates wild rock n roll with moments of grace and calmness that never falls into banality. They are a great group... to listen to. This album for me and my crew is a Must, it contains 14 fantastic songs, the musical alchemy is perfect... hats off.

As for me and my crew, we were brutally sodomized and massacred by a dinghy of pirate Mayhem fans before sighting land. Our bodies were quartered, cooked, eaten, and partly shit into the sea by the pirates just because I spoke ill of Mayhem. My last battle cry before being sodomized by five black sailors was nonetheless honorable: "W MANDO DIAOOOO, NOOOO, WHAT AN EXCRUCIATING PAINNNNN".