by Derric Miller
– Managing Editor —
As the lowest common denominator continues its inexorable embrace of the universe—be it religion, politics, art, humanity, stuffing low-quality spray cheese into a can, etc.—there is one unfairly unknown band in Sweden who will not go gentle into that good night. Not without a lot of booze, some words of wisdom, the rare ability to dissect the human existence … oh, and some damn fine music. That band is Hellsingland Underground, their new album is Understanding Gravity, and their call to arms is for each of us to live today like there’s no tomorrow, be happy while you still can breathe, and realize the only thing that is the end of the world is the LITERAL end of the world.
One of the biggest quirks Hellsingland Underground owns is their ability to sing the darkest, bleakest music while making you want to dance. On their prior album, you can’t listen to “Evil Will Prevail” without dancing. You simply cannot. They continue that celebration of despair with the opening track “Earth’s Gonna Shake.” Again, you can almost envision a festival like Woodstock (the good one), with half-naked bodies full of whatever spirits they wished to internally invoke singing together “Whole lot of evil, whole lot of hate … and the earth’s gonna shake.” Surprisingly, though, lyricist and singer Charlie Granberg steps back from the abyss and offers up the idea that with age comes wisdom if we only let it, and ends the song with “There’ll be a whole lot of lovin’, a whole lot of cake … and the earth’s gonna shake.”
You never know what instrument you are going to be hit with on a Hellsingland Underground song, so why not a trombone to start things off on “As Dreams Go By.” This is a song about living the dream of suburbia, mowing your grass (not smoking it) to the perfect neighborly height, and letting the movie of your life pass you by as you read the credits. Yay? The song is begging you to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are living your life or is your life living you. Couple that with some funky guitar solos and other musical passages, and you get something you can’t stop listening to again and again.
“No Regrets” is heavy-handed thematically, following the album’s story arc perfectly. You can’t change what happened—you can change what will. Charlie sings, “As long as there’s a heartbeat, As gravity pulls me into the void, I’ll keep on livin’ my life like tomorrow never comes.” So do that …
“How Lonely it Must be Being You” probably wears the crown for the album’s best song. It’s everything great about Hellsingland Underground, regardless of if you haven’t listened to them yet. (That’s on you.) Like Chris Isaak, the gents in Hellsingland Underground tap into real emotions, things that happened to them specifically or maybe they learned from others’ mistakes. But this is as honest a song you’ll ever hear. It has a haunting bit of Jim Croce feel to it, and again, the lyrics shine a black light on just existing. In this story, the protagonist used to be on top of the world, and let hatred, greed, and other forms of darkness turn him into a soulless husk. When Charlie sings, “The only thing I keep thinking about is how lonely it must be, being you,” you can’t help but think you know that guy … or you’ve been that guy. Maybe you still are.
The band is going to jerk you back and forth, give you both the ups and downs of life throughout the Understanding Gravity journey. Yes, it’s dark, but the best chorus on the album is on the uplifting track “You Saved me.” There’s a sense of finality in “The War is Over,” but since all things come to an end, good or bad, it’s not inherently morose to write about it. “Golden Haze” is going to hit too close to home for millions around the planet, touching on alcohol abuse, owning underwater homes, being unemployed and losing faith in everything around you. “When Music Ruled the World” is an upbeat, happy dammit!, so happy composition, and then it all ends with “Lonely Planet.” The cool part is Charlie sings it in his native tongue, but if you want, you can read the English lyrics in the booklet and yeah … “lonely” doesn’t quite cover it. In a sense, life can be a journey of you seeking for that which you’ll never find, never even be satisfied with if you do in fact find it, and then you die alone. Amen.
Think of Hellsingland Underground as the other side of that vacuous, innocuous, sub-standard musical fare the masses have been munching on for decades. There’s still thinking man’s music alive and well if you only look for it, and even if you care not a whit for lyrics, the music is going to make you boogie. If you get a little more introspective because of it, thank the band. Maybe twice …
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock
Band:
Charlie Granberg: Vocals
Peter Henriksson: Guitar & Vocals
Patrik Jansson: Drums & Percussion
Martin Karlsson: Bass & Vocals
Mats Olsson: Guitar & vocals
Thomas Petterson: Piano & Organ
Track Listing:
1. Earth ́s Gonna Shake
2. As Dreams Go By
3. No Regrets
4. Dizzy Jonsson & The Rovers
5. You Saved Me
6. How Lonely It Must Be Being You
7. Reincarnated The Same As I Ever Was
8. The War Is Over
9. Sail On My Seasick Brethren
10. Golden Haze
11. When The Music Ruled The World
12. Lonely Planet
Label: Killed By Records
Website: www.hellsinglandunderground.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10
