Spiritual Beggars
Return To Zero

They stunned the critics with their self-titled album in 1994. They reinstated in the mid-'90s the hard rock of the seventies, with clear stoner rock influences reminiscent of the masters Kyuss. The debut was a bolt from the blue, acclaimed by the critics and well received by a good number of fans. Then other CDs followed, more or less always positive, so much so that Spiritual Beggars seemed to be one of the new mainstays of European hard rock.

Yet to many, the name Spiritual Beggars means little or nothing; much more famous is Michael Amott, founder of the band and already a member of other much more famous acts like Carnage, Arch Enemy, and Carcass. His guitar, the voice of Apollo Papathanasio (singer of Firewind), as well as Per Wiberg (member of Opeth) on keyboards convinced me to get the latest release from the Swedish combo, published last August 30, 2010.

Knowing some of the band's previous works, particularly the first two albums, listening to Return to Zero left me with a deep sense of disappointment. The stoner boldness of the debut album and "Another Way to Shine" has almost completely disappeared to give way to a more canonical hard rock, closely related to the more classical heavy metal of NWOBHM origin.

"Return to Zero", the seventh album of Spiritual Beggars, though remaining a CD that ultimately earns a pass, does not completely convince those who had loved an album like "Ad Astra". Michael Amott remains fundamental with his guitar, just as indispensable appears Wiberg (much more than one would expect), but the overall verve of the album is not the best: too many tracks sound like fillers. The band almost gives the impression of not wanting to try something more complex than what they offer: pieces almost entirely similar to each other, with the exception of the different (and coincidentally better) "Spirit of the Wind" and "The Road Less Travelled."

All the names to expect something great were there, with Papathanasio, despite coming from a genre like power, perfectly adapting to the band's style: however, the final result is heavily influenced by the lack of pathos and punch. Spiritual Beggars give the impression of settling, and the quality of the record certainly does not benefit. The two tracks mentioned above, along with pieces like "The Chaos of Rebirth", "A New Dawn Rising", and "Dead Weight" are not enough to raise the judgment bar beyond the limit of adequacy. An adequacy that arrives stretched, with difficulty...

1. "Return To Zero" (0:52)
2. "Lost In Yesterday" (4:48)
3. "Star Born" (3:06)
4. "The Chaos Of Rebirth" (5:21)
5. "We Are Free" (3:24)
6. "Spirit Of The Wind" (5:51)
7. "Coming Home" (3:25)
8. "Concrete Horizon" (6:01)
9. "A New Dawn Rising" (4:42)
10. "Believe In Me" (6:40)
11. "Dead Weight" (4:51)
12. "The Road Less Travelled" (3:45)
13. "Time To Live" (4:14)