I dare you to write a review of this old school, beer-swigging, cigarette (or other) smoking, good-time Heavy Metal band, Sweden’s DEVIL’S GUN, and not invoke the name ofACCEPTjust once. There, I did it. Hats off to vocalist Joakim Hermansson, who does Udobetter than Udodoes Udoat this point. I’ve truly never heard a more spot-on impersonation, or homage, if you are feeling gracious. Often sounding like a heavy metal Elmo, he adeptly hits high notes that the elder Udoprobably doesn’t dare to touch, although with a clean-as-a-whistle tone that, at times, exposes the somewhat comedic aspects of this type of mixed-falsetto technique. The rest of the band fits the bill as well, and while they might be confused with a straight-up cover band, the all-original set on their second album, “Sing For The Chaos,” is full of fist-pounding, Heavy Metal anthems, worthy of your complete attention.
And you will be rapt with attention as soon as the opener “Killing Machine” starts. In my car I let out a “Holy shit”! as I was stunned with their ability to channel the aforementioned Germanic Heavy Metal legends. The songwriting on these tracks is so strong, with anthemic choruses everywhere you look. I dare you not to sing along to “Tear Down The Wall,” or the brilliant single “Lights Out”. This is true, close-out-the-bar, late-night-Heavy-Metal-party stuff.
They even offer a little variety on the title track “Sing For The Chaos,” an unexpected, downbeat almost-ballad about loss of hope. That mood quickly passes as “Electrical Shock” comes on with a “Fast As A Shark” double-kick fervor. It’s around this point that the novelty of Hermansson’s voice can start to wear a bit, as he may hit the notes that Udocan’t, he still has a ways to go to match the swagger and authenticity of that legend (not that anyone ever could). There’s a slight CINDERELLA/Tom Kieferfeel to “Queen of Destruction,” but overall his vox are stuck on 10 for the majority of the runtime.
Växjö, Sweden sure seems like a fun place to visit, as there are a number of bands there who derive influence from this golden period in Heavy Metal; bands like DYNAMITEandBULLET, that worship the likes of MOTÖRHEAD, KROKUS, AC/DC, and ROSE TATTOO. It gives the impression that this small town is a non-stop denim-and-leather keg party. That may explain the title to “Alligator Fuckhouse” (coincidentally, my nickname in college.) This one is a predictably boozy, two-o’clock-in-the-morning sing-along that shows off some charm. Album closer “Bad To The Bone” is more of a straight-up Scott Travis-eraPRIESThead-banger.
If you like to have fun, get drunk and listen to metal on a given Friday, Saturday – hell, any night of the week – you will love this record. It honestly shocked me with how much I enjoyed it. It’s not just the pitch-perfect ACCEPTnostalgia, but the endearing spirit of this album that draws you in. It’s clear these young dudes play music just like they live it… balls to the wall!
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 7
Memorability: 9
Production: 9
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