Blindstone - Freedom's Calling |
Published January 18 2009
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Freedom's Calling* |
| Genre | Heavy/Funky 70s Hard Rock |
Martin J. Andersen
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 11 |
Martin J. Andersen
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 59 Min. |
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Guitar
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| Label | Grooveyard |
Jesper Bunk
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Bass
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| Release | 02 August 2008 |
Anders Hvidfeldt
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Drums
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| Country | Denmark |
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Keyboard
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| Similar artists | Mahogany Rush, Mother's Finest, Gov't Mule | ||
Imagine Denmark hiding such nice little gems. The trio Blindstone featuring guitarist and singer Martin J. Andersen, bass player Jesper Bunk and Swedish drummer Anders Hvidfeldt, now release their second album, follow up of killer debut "Manifesto". The first album knocked me off my feet with its heavy, blues based, groove oriented riff-rock with slightly funkish overtones.
Already in the opening title track on the new album, the trio show they mean business this time around as well. With a detuned, mean riff straight in the solar plexus they set the aim for the new album in an instance. The fun thing is that the album actually closes with a cool, bluesy and soft version of the same track, with the Hendrixy title "Freedom's Calling (Slight Return)". Second track, "Can't Be With You" shows the bands parallel track - straight ahead, Hendrix-oriented blues rock with a touch of Frank Marino.
Here Martin does something I miss in today's music, he plays lead guitar all through the song, going on and off with the vocals, in every little crevice. What makes it even more interesting is that he is a guitarist with something to say, plus he knows how to find the sweet notes with a wah wah.
What really appeals to me with this band are the amazing riffs in combination with the incredible groove. It's totally impossible to sit still to the band's brutal blues groove with a big dose of funk, something that made me think that this actually sounds a bit like a marriage between Lenny Kravitz and Gov't Mule. Just listen to mind numbing riffs of "Freedom's Calling", "Fear", "I'd Quit" or the totally outstanding "Waste A Little Time On Me".
The aforementioned Frank Marino influences are confirmed in Blindstone's cover of his song "Had Enough", an unexpected song to cover from the album "Full Circle". On this track the band is reinforced by the American raw-blues phenomenon Lance Lopez whose albums should definitely be checked out. Blindstone is a piece of Danish dynamite you should definitely check out!
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Performance
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Originality
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Production
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Vocals
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Songwriting
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9 |
8 |
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Summary
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8 chalices of 10 - Stark |
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