Artist: Shraphead
Label: Metalville Records
Release: 2011
Runtime: 53:04
Rating: 4.2/5
Life is full of surprises, but only a few knock you flat with their beauty and sheer brilliance. Until this year, the young Norwegians from Eidskog, a town you can barely find on the map, were a complete unknown on my musical radar, even though they’ve been shaking up the local club scene since 2004. After seven years of polishing and contemplation, Shraphead have matured into a band that can put out an album on its own, and not just because that’s what bands are supposed to do, but because they’ve got enough quality riffs and juicy ideas in their bag, and because common sense told them to walk into the studio, backed by passionate spurts of blood pumping from under the arches of the heart chakra. Four hearts beating as one have woven together a compact whole that can go toe to toe, no shame at all, with names like Trivium, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Stone Sour and the rest of the army of modern, alternative-infused metalheads. Shraphead have a completely different pedigree, and Blind & Seduced is a geyser spraying proof that the band’s main virtues are technical chops, musical know-how, tightness and faith in their own way, no matter what the sales tally says in the end.
That’s a lot of praise, and I haven’t even started on the ecstatic run of thirteen tracks that melts the earwax in your ears and fills your skull with a buzzing sense of comfort and ease. So let’s begin: Blind & Seduced bursts at the seams with mighty rhythmic patterns, quality guitar tone and polished arrangements, and the whole thing isn’t even dented by the tastefully raspy vocals of the young singer, Jo Johnsruf. It’s precisely that raspy, slightly rough patina, holding everything together in one hermetic whole, that gives off the sense of greatness that made us fervently worship and fall to our knees before the records of the thrash giants, and that kept faith in beauty burning sharp and bright deep into the new millennium. The architecture is flawless, and instead of a feeling of craftsmanly polish, from the first notes of Welcome you get the sense that an organic foundation is up front, not anything artificially cold. The opening salvo of the first full-blooded track, Stolen Trust, proves that these four heads can crank their rotors to maximum thrust right out of the gate, without wearing you out or bogging you down with pretentious l’art pour l’art arrogance. The emotion in the choruses is made for reliving in front of the stage, and the thick rock atmosphere could appeal to a really wide circle of listeners. My first association on hearing it was Inspirito by the Rijeka-based purveyors of exceptional tunes, Father, which can only count in the young Norwegians’ favor.
The production is flawless and strikes a truly unique balance between the solid steel of good riffs and carefully considered, above all inspired and honest guitar solos. Guitarist Nils Stenmyren proves himself with a feel for the aesthetics of the revs, and drummer Mo Dyani and bassist William Fossheim don’t budge an inch from top-notch performance either. All the spotlights are of course trained on the charismatic, high-quality vocalist Jo Johnsruf, since success shows from the first throat on (or maybe not). In Shraphead’s case the stars are on the right side of the sky, because the crunchy, impressive production only reinforces the young singer’s heartfelt vocal excursion, and he manages to pull off an intense arc of confession without falling into the usual, at times damn boring dichotomy of mandated duality between clean vocals and guttural carnage. The quality really shines in the ballad Just Another Fool Who Understands, where Jo opens up all his registers and shows both the soft and the hard side, and the soul pours out in a cathartic discharge of sweet nectar. The guys are trying hard, and at times you get the feeling that every song is already so polished it could stand on its own. That very brilliance can be a bit of a problem, though, because after the first peak you feel like you’re sinking into a repetitive string of pure ecstasy that wears you out.
Add up all the elements and, despite the occasional feeling of well-worn phrases being melted into a successful, high-octane blend of brilliance and punch, Blind & Seduced is a quality record that solidly adds to the cherry-picked selection in modern alternative metal. Shraphead are undoubtedly talented, and they’ll prove their talent and timelessness, let’s hope, with a second album that, let’s hope, builds on the solid foundations of a debut worthy of respect.
This review was produced in collaboration between RockLine and Rock Hard Slovenija.
Line-up
Mohamed Dyani – drums
William Fossheim – bass and backing vocals
Nils Christer Stenmyren – lead guitar
Jo Johnsrud – vocals and rhythm guitar
Production
Shraphead
Tracklist
1. Welcome
2. Stolen Trust
3. Merry Go Round
4. Blind & Seduced
5. Just Another Fool Who…
6. The Hundred
7. The Life, The Path To Choose
8. Nothingless
9. Revelation
10. The Bond
11. Iconoclast
12. Evilberry Jam
13. Ageless
