Photo: Anders Bergstedt
For the last half-decade, Swedish hard rockers Graveyard have been playing a distinct take on swinging, stoner metal. Their most recent album, Lights Out, is an electric, blues-fueled, boogieing swirl that recalls some of the best metal of the ’70s. To find out just what zapped the band into this state, we caught up with drummer Axel Sjöberg and he told us what his five favorite metal and hard-rock records are right now.
1. Black Sabbath, Sabotage
It’s my favorite Sabbath album right now. I love “Symptom of the Universe.” It has so much– I hate the word “energy” — but when you listen to the main riff you feel like you can break down a brick wall with your fist. I get kind of psyched. Also in that song, there are some great drum breaks from Bill Ward. That song ends with a jam, and that’s what I like about Sabbath. They can be a bit random.
2. Death Breath, Stinking Up the Night
I’ve been listening a lot to Nicke Anderson, the drummer who played on Entombed records like Left Hand Path. A few years ago, he started Death Breath. This record is a bit punky — the drumming and everything is like death metal with a rock-and-roll, Discharge kind of vibe. It’s not perfectly played. I like that. I’m not one for perfection. I’m much more for a good vibe or a good attitude or energy. I love the song “Reduced to Ashes.”
3. High on Fire, Death Is This Communion
I love the song “Fury Whip” and that album, like a lot of High on Fire albums, is really good. Des Kensel plays drums like an old German tank or something that moves across the land takes down anything. He’s like a cold, relentless machine. [Makes destruction sound.] It takes down everything that’s in its way. It’s not super-fast, even though he plays fast sometimes, but it’s like if you have a nightmare and someone’s chasing you, and you know that you can run faster than you are, but in the dream you really can’t do that. It feels like the tank that never stops chasing you, even though you try to run as fast as you can, it keeps catching up with you.
4. Dust, Dust
It’s Marky Ramone’s band before he was in the Ramones. I like the song “From a Dry Camel.” And there’s one song on there called “Love Me Hard.” It’s sort of a love song, but it’s really heavy. You can’t believe it’s the same drummer as in the Ramones. They put out two albums. The other one, Hard Attack, is a killer album, too. It’s real hard and heavy without crossing the boundary into metal territory. I like when people push it, but don’t really step over it.
http://youtu.be/GuSGIS1Q1EQ
5. The Hellacopters, Supershitty to the Max!
I love the first Hellacopters album. It gives you the same feeling as when you listen to the Stooges. You get scared because you feel all the hormones and frustration and energy and sweat. It’s just wild. We sometimes joke about the song “(Gotta Get Some Action) NOW!” We call it the alternative Swedish national anthem.
Lights Out is available now via Nuclear Blast. Watch the video for “Endless Night” below:
