Swedish Hitz Goes Metal
Swedish Hitz Goes Metal
Rating
Style: Hardrock/Heavy Metal
Release date: 25 August, 2011
Playing time: 51:00
 

I'm trying to picture the target group for this release. It's not really a pretty sight.

This is a bunch of guys, they're about my age, perhaps a little bit younger. They were teenagers during the Nineties and they liked Metallica, Iron Maiden and of course Europe. They still like a bit of hard music every now and then when the wife and the kids are out and especially if they get together with their old buddies and have a couple of beers.

On this particular evening, one of them has bought a CD called 'Swedish Hitz Goes Metal'. 'Guys, guys, listen to this, this is bloody awesome!' he exclaims.

And out of the loudspeakers bellow the sounds of the Swedish hits from the early to mid-Nineties that they were forced to listen to every weekend because the girls they wanted to score listened to it at the local disco - and, really, they didn't mind it, because the songs were catchy as hell. And ABBA...I mean, who doesn't like ABBA! This was something they never admitted in the face of their mates, naturally.

These hardrock and proggy metal versions go right in. The old buddies silently accept that they always liked these songs and just give in. They bang their heads even if they know that their necks will complain tomorrow and there isn't too much hair flying in the air anymore.

Sad, innit?

Well, yeah, in a way. But at the same time, it's a fun idea and I can see quite a few semi-old geezers like myself enjoying this.

The next question is whether I enjoy it. To be honest, I'm not so sure. I like much of the original songs because they're really good pop songs. If I were to pick one song that should sell this album, I'd probably pick Roxette's T
he Look. It functions very well (apart from the terrible spoken part that sounds like a caricature of a Japanese tourist). Aces of Base's The Sign has a bit of magic too, that converts well into metaldom.

You might find it surprising, but the ABBA tunes are actually the ones that offer the biggest challenge for the Swedish combo behind this effort. Super Trouper is plain uninteresting in this version, and the same can be said of The Winner Takes it All. Summer Night City translates better, because it from the outset has a heavier structure. Lay All Your Love on Me also works sort-of alright, but it's not amazing.

I appreciate the attempt, but in the end, I probably won't be pulling this one out of the mp3 archive when my mates come over. Judge for yourself - you might enjoy this after a beer or two.


Tracklist

01. Mamma Mia
02. The Look
03. Money Money Money
04. The Sign
05. Summer Night City
06. All that she wants
07. Super Trouper
08. Joyride
09. Intermezzo no. 1
10. Sleeping in my Car
11. The Winner Takes it All
12. Beautiful Life
13. Lay All Your Love on Me
14. Listen to Your Heart

Label: Doolittle Group
Distribution: Sound Pollution
Promotion: Connecting Music
Artwork rating: 35/100
Reviewed by: Thomas Nielsen
Date: 23 September, 2011