Skraeckoedlan: Äppelträdet (2011)

Swedish quartet SKRAECKOEDLAN started out back in 2009. Following an initial period of composing original songs they hit the studio to record an initial 5 track demo in the fall of 2009, with an additional 3 track demo following shortly after. The demos got favourable reviews from all over the world, and also got some attention from commercial radio stations. In the fall of 2010 they strated to work on their official debut album "Äppelträdet", which was finalized in the early summer of 2011 and subsequently released by Swedish label Transubstans Records.

As with many other artists signed to the Transubstans label, Skraeckoedlan is a band that can trace their musical inspirations back to the 1970's in general and Black Sabbath in particular. In the case of this band they name a handful or so of second and third generation stoner metal and doom metal bands as their main influences, but those familiar with Tony Iommi and his gloomy escapades over the years will easily identify the origins of the sound explored by this Swedish act.

The end result is a CD that for me can be summarized as Black Sabbath, but on a heavy dose of steroids. The sound and to some extent development and structure is at times remarkably similar, but there's more of everything. The bass is more thundering, the dual guitars more massive and diverse, the drummer slightly quirkier. Lead vocalist Lamu is the exception to the rule, with more of an ordinary voice than Ozzy's famous light-toned subtly atonal delivery, but he does fit the music explored pretty much dead on.

Downtuned, thunder bass guitar forms the rumbling foundation for all compositions, and Larsson's stickwork supplements the deep rumblings with a steady, energetic performance. With occasional quirky flourishes adding a subtle but effective unpredictable nature to this part of the proceedings. And with a massive presence on top we have the dual axe attack of Lamu and Grüttner. Sometimes seemingly performing the riff patterns in unison, crafting a dark-toned, massive riffs that attacks the mind like tons of molten lead. Staccato riff barrages with effective use of impact riffs and fluctuating wandering riff patterns the two main choices of delivery, for the latter one guitar will usually provide subtle melodic overlays to flavour the arrangements. Both guitarists add some additional details to the proceedings too, clever use of alternating pace-filled riff inserts, drawn out resonating riffs and unpredictable melodic nuances coming and going maintains a good and solid nerve, and for the instrumental passages heavy psych-dripping guitar soloing is a welcome guest. As are dampened, mellow instrumental inserts with less distorted, lighter sounding guitar motifs, more often than not with a distinct emphasis on a psychedelic expression on these occasions.

But while there is a psych undercurrent that occasionally surface on this production, the main focus for this band is to deliver energetic, mid-paced, dark-toned metal. Hypnotic, captivating and in most cases well suited for headbanging too. Not too sophisticated from a structural point of view, but with many fine details to be uncovered for arrangements in general and instrumental performance in particular. Subtle nuances mostly, treasures for the careful, dedicated listener to uncover.

"Äppelträdet" is a high quality production through and through, perhaps not the most innovative album around but an invigorating experience to be treasured by those who like doom and stoner metal in general, and in particular by those who like this kind of music performed with a slight emphasis on the 70's sound whilst incorporating more of a contemporary expression.

My rating: 82/100


Track list:
1. Världarnas Fall 3:04
2. Soluppgång 4:08
3. Chronos 2:43
4. Äppelträdet 5:05
5. Haven 4:29
6. Doedaroedlan 4:17
7. Universe 5:27
8. Cactus 5:50
9. Fågelsång 4:55
10. Rokh 3:59