Sweden…it is hard to understand what’s in the water over there, but whatever it is, quality metal acts sprout over there like there’s no tomorrow. It’s no different with the classic metal and hard rock sounds of Bullet. Capturing that vintage metal rhythms and riffs, Bullet bring back the good old days of heavy metal. Who says you to progress to be relevant? An album that deserves much more recognition, Bullet’s Dust To Gold shines on the 11 spot on our countdown.

“It’s cool that some bands progress and do new stuff,” said guitarist Alex Lyrbo to BW scribe Mark Gromen in feature story. “However, I don’t think you have to reinvent yourself on every album to be relevant on the scene. Our approach is to make heavy metal that we all want to hear. You know, that album between Balls To The Wall and Metal Heart that you never heard. There has been plans about touring North America but they haven’t come to fruition yet." Fingers crossed! With a laugh, he finishes, "Would love to come over to you guys and play some non-modern, non-progressive metal!"

If you want to understand how Bullet works, you only have to take one look at the ancient tour bus that the five musicians have been conquering the world with for years. The black, white and red 1964 Volvo B63508, lovingly referred to as the “Bullet Bus”, with its indestructible six-cylinder engine and countless miles under its frayed seats, the band’s mobile hotel. Mind you: perhaps hotel isn’t quite the operative word, (youth) hostel would be more to the point, the van’s interior having accumulated an attractive odor composed of petrol, sweat, beer and a diverse range of tobacco blends in its interior.

“In the years that we’ve been travelling from show to show in our van and have visited countless festivals, our Bullet Bus has never let us down,” guitarist Hampus Klang phrases a kind of declaration of love to the vintage vehicle that features on the cover of the group’s latest album Dust To Gold for a good reason. “The Volvo has more than earned its place on the front cover,  because in its own way it’s just like we are: hard as nails, resilient and full of priceless memories.”

The Bullet Bus as a synonym for a band philosophy that could hardly be more compelling. Bullet from Växjö have been on the metal scene since 2001, released five excellent studio albums to date, toured most European countries several times, opened for AC/DC in front of 55,000 people in 2009 and played some of Europe’s most prestigious festivals, such as Rock Am Ring, Graspop, Sweden Rock, Bang Your Head, Rock Hard, Keep It True, Headbangers Open Air and Wacken (twice!). The band has eaten dirt in the true sense of the word and transformed it into musical gold, as their programmatic album title hints.