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Rating: “......a current band that plays '70s hard rock? try Spiritual Beggars....”
Year 2000, that's how a friend responded to my desire to discover a band capable of proposing old sounds without falling into plagiarism of the great '70s bands.
Without hesitation, I gather information about the band and discover that it was formed in 1994, led by the already known Michael Amott, guitarist of the extreme Carcass and Arch Enemy, completed by the unknown Spice as singer/bassist and Ludwig Witt on drums. The foundations of the project were laid with “Another Way To Shine,” an album where the band's style is clearly in its embryonic stage, stoner and hard rock mix in Michael Amott's musical proposition, which nonetheless earns numerous accolades in the musical underground. “Mantra III” was released in 1998 and features the novelty of Per Wiberg (Opeth) on organ as a special guest; he significantly evolves the sound of Spiritual Beggars, pushing towards '70s sounds reminiscent of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep. With this album, Michael Amott's creation begins to take shape: energy, taste, and originality serve as the cornerstone for a transitional work that gives the band awareness of its own strength.
With the advent of nu-metal bands that were invading the record market at the beginning of the millennium, Spiritual Beggars present “Ad Astra,” an a-historical work, absolute music, valid in all contexts and eras. The album revolves around Michael Amott's guitar work, who finds a worthy companion in Per Wiberg, now a permanent member, capable of further stimulating Amott, creating instrumental parts where they both compete to show off their skills; Spice, with his warm, bluesy, scratchy voice, melds with the band's enveloping sound.
“Left Brain Ambassadors” beautifully kicks off the dance, the overwhelming strength of the Halmstad quartet is evident in the high-class riff that opens a track where every band member showcases what they're made of. Amott's breathtaking solo and Wiberg's response that closes the track in a finale from another time help to enrich an already perfect piece. “Wonderful World” speaks of the wonders of the world, because this is a positive album in every sense, there's a longing for life, to hell with negativity; the band plays with vital, proactive energy, each track shines with its own light and represents an energetic component that together overwhelms the listener, blinding them with brightness.
There are hard tracks: “Blessed” and “Save Your Soul” come down like an avalanche; there are wonderful tracks: “Escaping The Fools” and especially “Mantra” are capable of delivering strong emotions.
The success of the album also lies in its accessibility to anyone, not necessarily just metal enthusiasts, but to all who love great music; this is a work that rightfully stands alongside masterpieces of the genre.
A surprising album that gains value over time.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Left Brain Ambassadors (03:17)
He's never been arrested once
In his life
Never received a letter from the law
Quite insane
Never felt the demon riding his back
He is safe from harm
Never got hallucinations after
Being too long on the booze
Logical thinking
Turns to Stupidity
Never had longer relations
With the female sex
Never been quite all alone
Poor little boy
Never had suicidal thoughts
Never quite understood
The true meaning of the word life
02 Wonderful World (04:01)
Cloudless sky is in my eyes
The sun has come out for air
My dog is sitting by my side
Watching me getting high
What a wonderful world
Looking with inner eyes
What a wonderful world
Nothing ever dies
Can you feel the taste of life
Or are you blinded by the clowns?
Shake the water and feed the sun
Oil the universal joint
03 Sedated (04:19)
Sedated every night
I had my wine and my joints
A couple of sleeping pills
Tears of tiredness dripping down
But after a while
I began to lose my song
After a while It wasn't fun no more
Sedated when morning comes
Sitting with a troubled head
Sedated but the sun don't shine
Await my suicide
04 Angel of Betrayal (03:41)
She shone like the sun in those days
Whispered things into my head
Now I lie cold in my cell
Kissing pills to keep me sane
Angel of betrayal
Nowadays I choose to meditate
With a couple of drinks
Sitting on my sofa
Watching the dumb TV
Gin and Tonic rules
Blood on the floor
Burn marks from cigarettes
My throat pleads for more
Angel of betrayal
I tried to put my tongue into the cave
I prayed that I was insured
I tried to put my tongue into the cave
But she led my mind astray
Angel of betrayal
I ought to kill the bitch
To clean out my head
Letting off some steam
If you know what I mean
Gin and tonic rules
Blood on the floor
Burn marks and everything
Her soul leaves for home
Angel of betrayal
I tried to put my tongue into the cave
I prayed that I was insured
I tried to put my tongue into the cave
But she led my mind astray
Angel of betrayal
05 Blessed (03:33)
Loaded as the sun above
I dig myself
Drinking washes the gray away
It kissed my brain
Smoking makes me catch my breath
I feel alone
Now I feel my inner self
Incarnation of Christ
Now the lungs of the universe
Are the lungs of my soul
I can feel it
I can sense it
Hallelujah Bless my soul
Monday morning you enter hell
Not me I'm not a fool, no I'm not a whore
Haven't sold my soul
Monday morning I open a beer
And light a cigarr
Put my pen to paper and write I hate you all
06 Per Aspera ad Astra (04:11)
Looking up from an icy spot
Praying for the re-birth of the sun
If everything would explode
Would you breathe in or out?
Bring me a dog or a loaded gun
I'm fed up with all the people around
Most of them are to me
Like crisp breadcrumbs in my bed
And all I can say to you Is to fly with the riddle
To touch the moon
All I can say to you is try!
Passive thinking, stuck in the game
Souls hide in infected cells
If everything would explode
Would they breathe in or out?
Stranded, deep in civilisation
People I thought were like myself
Have turned into what we all once said
We hated so much
And all I can say to you
Is that fly with the riddle
To touch the moon
All I can say to you
Is that I try
07 Save Your Soul (03:57)
Let me sing for pleasure
Let me drink my treasure
Up to the mountain of faith
Hit me again
While you kiss your left brain
You oppress you right brain
Ice-pops up in your arse
You run with the flock
Our presence is a saga
A shore beyond
The horizon
Save Your Soul
When I read Bukowski
And when I read Martinus
I feel magic in my soul
Boiling me warm
Do you dream of freedom?
Or do the demons tell you?
There is nothing you can loose
If you run with the flock
I'm too cool
To be a fool
09 Escaping the Fools (05:24)
He took me away
He showed me a way
The rivers where running too slow
The wizard said "This is your name
Eternal Gladiator, my friend"
Higher and higher and higher I fly
Escaping the circle of clowns
With magic wisdom
With magic eyes
I'm eating the stars and the Moons
I'm going home
And guess what?
I'm not dead
Yes, I'm going home
Freedom is the name of my soul
Faster and faster and faster
I speed I'm beating the light
With my eyes I find thousands of universes
Inside every single atom
12 Mantra (06:58)
I've been down so long
Nothing ever changes
No matter how much I try
Got neighbours in my head
They're constantly arguing
About each step I take
My hands move like rattlesnakes
And my fingers fumble
Like they've just been invented
I bleed through the faking truth
I don't understand
All you fools
I keep drinking wine
Alone in the dark
You know the last drink
Is always the saddest
I have enough pills
To take me home
'Cos this neighbour's song is doing it too slow
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