SPIDERS - Killer Machine

May 18, 2018, 5 years ago

(Spinefarm)

Mark Gromen

Rating: 7.5

review hard rock spiders

SPIDERS - Killer Machine

Another quality act from Gothenburg, Sweden, although on their third album, the female fronted four piece owe more to high energy ‘70s hard rock/punk than any of their contemporary towns folk. Lead singer Ann-Sofie Hoyles describes the sound as, "If Alice Cooper got married to Stevie Nicks, their child would be Killer Machine." OK, was thinking more The Donnas meets first Pretenders disc, but to each their own. What's not in dispute is an infectious collection of commercial accessible rockers without sacrificing gritty guitar aggression, topped with Hoyles' smooth voice. 

The songs are short, with easy sing-along, repetitive lyrics and the best ones offer speedy guitars, like opener "Shock And Awe" setting the table with its speaker rattling intensity. "Swan Song" actually contains a six-string solo. Wah-wah fuzzy guitars and cowbell start "Like A Wild Child", while there's a bouncy hint of ABBA (Come on, they're Swedish!) in one-of-a-kind multi-layered vocal "Higher Spirits". Ballad "Don't Need You", apart from some string bending that belies its surroundings, is the sore spot of the eleven choices. The concluding "Heartbreak" adds prominent harmonica, the lyrics little more than the title itself and an extended surf guitar jam. Fun diversion from the purely metallic.



Featured Video

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

KELEVRA - "The Distance"

Latest Reviews