Saturday, 2 March 2019

Silver Devil - Paralyzed (Album Review)


Release date: February 11th 2019. Label: Ozium Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Paralyzed – Tracklisting

1.Howl 03:42
2.Rivers 04:54
3.Paralyzed 05:12
4.Nightwalker 05:07
5.No Man Traveller 04:05
6.Octopus 03:10
7.Beast 03:33
8.Hypersleep 08:39

Members

Vocals: Anders Löfstrand
Guitar: Jonas Hamqvist
Guitar: Otto Molin
Drums: Marcus Ström
Bass: Erik Bergkvist

Review

Silver Devil are a band I’ve never heard of before listening to their new album – Paralyzed – which is out now via Ozium Records. I didn’t know what to expect but when I saw these guys are from Sweden and play Heavy Fuzz/Stoner Metal then I was excited to listen to their new album. And what an album these guys have delivered with Paralyzed.

Silver Devil play a psychedelic blend of Doom Rock, Fuzz, Space Rock and Stoner Metal. They sound like a more FUZZED UP version of Dozer with the later progressive sounds of Truckfighters. However that description only offers you a brief glimpse on what to expect on Paralyzed.

Opening song – Paralyzed – is easily one of the best songs on the album with the band getting straight down to business of playing different strands of Heavy Psychedelic Spaced Out Fuzz. The album sounds very loud from the start and that’s down to the fantastic production held throughout the album. The vocals from Anders make you feel right at home with his almost pitch perfect delivery. The music can be quite progressive in places and the OTT lyrics add a real flair to their music.

Second song – Howl – is another LOUD Progressive Stoner Metal Opus that has a more daring sound compared to the opening song. The song is on shorter which allows the band to play a more direct and heavier sound. The song does become quite daring especially when the heavy sludgy riffs appear.

Third song – Rivers – sees Silver Devil become more comfortable with their heavy progressive Sludge Rock sound and it makes them have a more threatening presence. However the band still rely upon the classic DOZER style of Fuzz/Stoner Metal to keep the music more grounded. The vocals from Anders impress yet again and remain of the albums main strengths.

Fourth song – Nightwalker – is one of the most “doomiest” songs that appears on the album. As the song has quite a gloomy approach throughout the entire song. The familiar heavy Fuzz Rock/Stoner Metal vibes are paired with a fast-paced Psych Rock approach and the band have devilish fun on this song.

I’m only going to provide an in-depth for these songs as the rest of the album sees the band play a similar style of music for the remaining songs on the album. The band embrace their Psychedelic Stoner Metal roots on the later stages of the album on songs such as: No Man Traveller, Hypersleep and The Grand Trick.

I only have one minor complaint about this album and that is a couple of the songs do sound too similar to each other. However that doesn’t stop Paralyzed being a thrilling and genuinely exciting album that we all expect from the legendary Swedish Fuzz/Doom/Stoner Metal scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Ozium Records for the promo. Paralyzed is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via OziumRecords.

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