GREENLEAF: Agents of ahriman CD (sealed). stoner and classic rock.!

Description

Track listing
1. Highway Officer
2. Treehorn
3. Alishan Mountain
4. Black Tar
5. Lake, The
6. Agents of Ahriman
7. Ride Another Highway
8. Sleep Paralysis
9. Stray Bullit Woman

Details
Playing time: 37 min.

All SAMPLES:

Greenleaf: Oskar Cedermalm (vocals); Tommi Holappa (guitars); Bengt Backe (bass guitar); Erik Backwall (drums).
Personnel: Peder Bergstrand (vocals); Tommi Holappa (guitar); Erik Bäckwall (drums).
Additional personnel: Peder Bergstrand, John Hermansen (vocals); John Hoyles (guitar); Jocke Ahslund (Hammond b-3 organ); Linus Amber Mumblin’ Man (cowbells); Emil Leo (unknown instrument).

A whole four years after their last release (003s Secret Alphabets) left curious listeners intrigued and somewhat confused, here comes Swedens Greenleaf — the sometime side project that won’t die, but sure takes its sweet-ass time to come on back — with another collection of stoner and classic rock action titled Agents of Ahriman. Here again, the group seems to feature as many “core” musicians (most notably Dozer guitarist Tommi Holappa) as invited guests (including members of Lowrider and Truckfighters), and this goes some way towards explaining both the loosely arranged, almost improvisational feel to many of their fuzz rock explorations as well as the vast array of retro-rock styles visited from start to finish. To wit, give Agents of Ahriman just a cursory glance, and you’ll identify several shades of Deep Purple and lunar phases of Steppenwolf (“Black Tar,” “The Lake”); Ozzy vocal imitations (“Highway Officer”) and screaming Monster Magnet intensity (“Ride Another Highway”); Pink Floyd-like space meddling (“Sleep Paralysis”) and Hawkwind-esque interstellar droning (“Treehorn”); Ram Jam-style blues crust (“Stray Bullit Woman”) and Sir Lord Baltimore-type psych guitar gone “Bolero” (the title track), and lots of latter day Blue Öyster Cult in the catchy licks and vocal lines of “Alishan Mountain.” In the end, though, the one thing that all of these songs have in common is a rather basic, lo-fi production strategy (which suits them rather well, don’t you know?), and the aforementioned ability to confuse and intrigue in virtually equal measures. Obviously, none of this bodes very well for Greenleaf to attract a dedicated fan contingent, but, if past form repeats itself, its not like that the group will be coming back this way again any time soon, either.

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“In fine continental style Greenleaf mix classicist early ’70s hard rock, tinges of proto-prog as it jettisoned from psyche/acid rock, and a youth spent listening to energetic rock (regardless of hairstyles) into a pure rock reality.” — Lollipop Call it talent, magic, or whatever you want, but Greenleafs got it. A supergroup of the stoner rock scene, the band was formed in late 1999 by guitarist Tommi Holappa (Dozer), drummer Daniel Liden (Demon Cleaner, Dozer, And Machine Said Behold), and engineer/bassist Bengt Bäcke. Featuring a revolving cast of fellow musicians who share a love of heavy fuzz rock–including Fredrik Nordin (Dozer), Daniel Jansson (Stonewall Noise Orchestra), and Peder Bergstrand (Lowrider)–Greenleaf has consistently defined what rock `n’ roll was, is, and should be. Like the bands past releases, Agents of Ahriman is a righteous kick in the ass and a testament to the almighty riff. This time, the band is joined by Oskar Cedermalm (Truckfighters), Erik BÃckwall (Dozer), Jocke Ãhslund (Payback), and a handful of guests. This new lineup keeps Greenleaf moving forward without losing track of what made the group great in the first place. Take note–this is what rock bands should sound like.