Harry Shiels
Having nearly reached twenty years since the release of their self titled debut album, Swedish hard rockers Graveyard have long established themselves as a distinctive and revered torchbearer in the world of modern hard rock. The band found their stride early after their 2011 breakthrough second album, Hisinger Blues, which scored them critical acclaim and attention, leading to opening slots for the likes of Soundgarden and becoming a mainstay of the Swedish rock scene.
Through various lineup changes and a brief hiatus, the band endured; their last release, 2023’s 6, was drenched in a dreary noir atmosphere, sombre reflections that built their first post-pandemic release, exploring sounds similar to their earlier album Light’s Out but feeling murkier in mood.
The doom and gloom of 6 is brushed away within moments of firing up Fever, the band shaking off the cobwebs, once again pursuing hard rock riffs and high energy with the aptly named opening track ‘Back From The Grave’. A dramatic and bombastic opening flurry that lays the blues heavy riff fiendish pursuit in clear view. Followed by the urgent, high-tempo ‘Tongue Tied’, almost punk tinged drive, this feels like a band reborn anew with a fresh vigour despite landing seven albums in.
It’s clear Graveyard’s focus with Fever was to dial up the aggression and push forward with a direct and hard hitting intensity within the songwriting. The choice of Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Refused, Viagra Boys, The Hives) to mix compliments the songwriting throughout the album, playing with spacing and textures through the vocals and a range of fuzz and crunch across the instrumentals. A perfect example coming from ‘Year Of The Horse’, a higher tempo big energy driver, the main riff has echoes of QOTSA’s ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar…’. It leaves little room to breathe as a barrage of riffs is in constant attack until a momentary breather comes in the bridge before once again bringing the intensity back for a final drive and subtle guitar solo.
The second half of the album comes with a pair of hard stompers. ’A Means To An End’ starts with a forward staccato stomp; the riff slowly pitches up as the energy builds before erupting in another hook heavy chorus. Proper toe tapper with a huge chorus hooks once again. Followed by ‘Time To Tell’, continuing the stomp but bringing the mood down to a simmer, feeling much like the bluesy, laid-back energy of Lights Out era Graveyard, tempered and dramatic, powerful vocal howls really driving the energy of the track.
Bassist Truls Mörck takes the centre stage on vocals in ‘Don’t Shoot!’; it makes for a nice change of pace in the album’s feel as the end starts to draw near. The crooning guitar solo towards the end matches the intensity from the dramatised vocals, an off kilter turn that adds some variation in the second half of Fever. ‘Room Tempered’ brings the energy back full force with an almost Motorhead spirit to the intro before veering back into fast paced driving hard rock punches. Stomping staccato and manic drum fills baked into the centre of the tracks pull, breaking for a tense bridge before building back up towards the big finale.
Speaking of which, ’Dead Note’ lands at almost seven minutes, taking its time to build a hypnotising atmosphere. The consistent bass line holds the fort for the flourishes of guitar harmonies, with layers of fuzz creeping into the fringes before drifting away again. Fever is the perfect indicator of why Graveyard continues to hold a devout following and endure as a mainstay across the hard rock scene. Joakim Nilsson continues to impress as one of the best vocalists in rock today and the
The band’s ability to craft non-stop hooks across the nine tracks is still to be celebrated.
After a somewhat morose and dreary big return in the post-pandemic world, it’s refreshing to hear the band still have a lot of fuel in the tank for fiery outbursts. When the fire burns for Graveyard it feels like there is very little that can stand in their way, and Fever roars with intensity that’s hard not to get drawn to.