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Bullet: Highway pirates

18/03/11 || cadenz

To be able to fully comprehend the music at hand, and thus perform well with the review, I had to pump myself full with beer. Even though it’s Thursday night and work is due 8 AM tomorrow. Everything for GD. (Okay okay, I drank two beers.)

Bullet is a bona fide retro-hard rock band hailing from Sweden. Everything on “Highway Pirates”, the band’s third full-length, reeks of late 70’s/early 80’s party hard rock, AC/DC style. Many have, understandably, mistaken Bullet for their Australian brethren throughout the years, and had the boys from Down Under still kept on releasing quality material, Bullet would’ve been if not redundant, then close to it. But as it is – we’re getting authentic, energetic, frenzied and honest fucken quality hard rock in the same vein. Someone has to carry the torch, show must go on etc. You know the deal.

Sweaty guitar riffs with lots of chordal work are Bullet’s backbone, the crunchy guitar sound with clear definition between strings making the multi-stringed approach favorable. Rocking bass lines and steady drum beats lay the rhythmic foundation, with lots and lots of chord changes and accents on syncopes. All for the groove of things. The production is superb for this kind of rock n’ boner, edgy and feisty and with a wholeness to the sound, despite the tangible separation between the instruments. Studio wiz Tobias Lindell clearly knows his stuff.

Of course I have to mention the, very possibly, most crucial ingredient in a classic hard rock band – the vocalist. Dag Hell Hofer surely is a unique force of nature; his high raspy howls take a little time getting used to, but when the familiarization process is over, you can start enjoying them for what they are – enthusiastic bursts of raw energy, reminiscent of both Brian Johnson and Rob Halford. Compared quality-wise even with such iconic voices, Hofer has nothing to be ashamed of; of course without those two gentlemen we wouldn’t have Mr. Hofer, but that’s the way it goes, being in a retro band.

What sets Bullet apart from most retro bands (I’ll stop overusing that term right now), like for example Airbourne, is the quality of their songwriting. Most songs have choruses and riffs that latch onto your cerebral cortex faster than you can say “Sigourney Weaver is hot in Alien 3 despite the lack of hair”. Most riffs have also been polished with subtle technical details that make them stand out the more, so we’re spared from the mundane power-chord-this-and-power-chord-that mindset. I really dig the guitarists’ tasteful soloing as well, especially the harmonies on “Down and Out” and the solo on closer “Into the Night” got my crotch moving. On a side note, “Down and Out” qualifies, along with “Fire and Dynamite”, as my favorites off of “Highway Pirates”, so consider those slices recommended.

Even though these guys surely should be experienced live rather than on record, this album is so immediate that you can get into an almost-live feel just by rocking it in your living room. If you’re searching for a hard rock album that sets you in the mood for partying and having a Rn’R blast, grab “Highway Pirates” – you won’t be disappointed!

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Black Lodge/Sound Pollution
Website: www.bullet.nu
Band
Dag Hell Hofer: vocals
Hampus Klang: guitars
Erik Almström: guitars
Adam Hector: bass
Gustav Hjortsjö: drums

Tracklist
01. Highway Pirates
02. Back on the Road
03. Stay Wild
04. Blood Run Hot
05. Fire and Dynamite
06. Down and Out
07. Knuckleduster
08. Heavy Metal Dynamite
09. Citylights
10. Into the Night

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