Greenleaf | facebook |
Released on February 26, 2016 via Napalm Records
Originally a side-project born out of Swedish rockers Dozer, Greenleaf have evolved into a full time committed entity. Recently exposed to a wider audience as support to Clutch on their most recent European tour they release their 6th album in total, but 2nd album to feature vocalist Arvid Jonsson, the now sole original member guitarist Tommi Holappa, along with Hans Fröhlich (bass) and Sebastian Olsson (drums), on Napalm Records. Unabashed stoner rockers they combine the desert fuelled riffs of said genre’s legends Kyuss and a retro 1970’s classic hard rock heartbeat.
Previous album Trails and Passes had a lightness and shade production giving their sound a space and subtlety to proceedings evoking a slight Screaming Trees influence. Once again produced by Karl Daniel Liden the most immediate difference this time around is a heavier, dense, sound, which clenches and therefore, destroys, on first listen, some of the lighter touches of the previous album and therefore extinguishes the splash of Mark Lanegan’s led Trees. Another noticeable change is the hefty, harder hitting makeover of Sebastian’s sturdy, pummelling drums. So Rise Above The Meadow might just be an honest assessment of what to expect in a live setting.
What remains despite this new tightening stranglehold production is a melodic centre. Arvid’s vocals recall Chris Cornell’s tone, but sung with restraint so minus the Robert Plant-esque wail and holler. So while the harder, brisk sound packs the punch, Arvid is the supplier of melodic ice cool restraint. The rocket-fuelled catchy opener ‘A Million Fireflies’, the big 70’s style riff and groove of ‘Funeral Pyre’, and the tempo of two halves ‘Howl’, are all fine statements of rocking intent. While ‘Golden Throne’ recalls Rocket from the Crypts’ ‘On A Rope’ riff.
On first listen the intentional shift in heaviness left this reviewer feeling a slight disappointed. It sounded like a band conforming to stoner rock convention so losing the Screaming Trees influence, which originally compelled further investigation into the band. On further listens there is still the lightness of touch of the predecessor in existence, even if it does require one to dig a bit deeper, as it is shrouded in a cloak of iron chains. It is midway through Rise Above The Meadow, however, sproutings of this subtleness emerge as ‘Carry Out The Ribbons’ fuses 70’s hard rock, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, and Clutch style riffing.
The variation of styles continue to emerge as the longest track and possible highlight, ‘Levitate And Bow (Pt. 1 & 2)’, recalls the medieval robes of fellow Swedes Witchcraft, and ‘You’re Gonna Be My Ruin’ both enlighten Tommi’s varying nuanced riffing to a trance like effectiveness. While the album closer ‘Pilgrims’ signs off with a momentum building rock out crescendo.
Rise Above The Meadow is a solid, commendable and enjoyable blast, which can sit comfortably in the stoner rock canon. It might not hit the delicate delights of Trails and Passes, but it rocks with honesty, heart, and consistency. In an interview for Echoes and Dust Arvid revealed the intention was to combine ‘the groove, the heaviness’, and ‘melody.’ Job done!
