Ah, it has been a while since a Beardfish album landed in my player, but the boys are back with this 2012 release of The Void. In between more material has been released by the way, but I am still catching up!
So the first thing to notice is that the guitars are cranked up quite a bit here. And I like it! Voluntary Slavery almost becomes a prog metal work out, such is the power and riffage on display. And Turn To Gravel opens with a heavy groove that would make Led Zeppelin proud. But of course a band of this calibre will not let us get away with only throwing a lot of power at us. The keyboards are there, don´t worry. Alas the hammond organ is less prominent than before, but if you listen close enough, more vintage sounds pop up. In They Whisper it is a Wurlitzer, and the piano version of Ludvig & Sverker is based upon…, well I guess you figured that one out already. So as the CD develops things are becoming more in the expected progressive rock territory. Again Beardfish prove to be able to entertain with ease. And when an album gets better with every playback, you just know you are slowly falling in love with it.
So don´t worry about guitars, or about crossing borders, Beardfish still manage to come up with music that is simply too good to ignore. A must buy for fans of the genre and people with an open mind have another CD to delve into.