| CD REVIEW Bullet |
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Band : Bullet Once upon a time, you could find AC/DC tribute bands in about every "civilized" country on this earth, but few were those that ever rose from a pure cover status to playing their own tunes. Bullet is Växjo based, Sweden's answer to that phenomenon since 2001, when singer Dag "Hell" Hofer joined forces with former Talion members Erik Almström (guitar) and Gustav Hjortsjö (drums), and former Hypnosia members Hampus Klang (guitar) and Lenny Blade (bass; the scene veteran in the band, having also played with Incinerator, Nominion, Devil Lee Rot, and Church Bizarre), who's since apparently been replaced by one Adam Hector. I only found one source of info on the Internet, but you're welcome to share what I found... The band made its recorded debut with the 2002 3-track demo Heavy Metal Highway, which was subsequently released as a 7-inch EP by the Sword & Sorcery imprint that same year. Polish label Agonia Records then picked up the band for the release (in 2003) of their now classic 6-track (including the three 7-inch songs) mini-album Speeding In The Night. In 2004 the Swedes were signed to British label Rage Of Achilles but suffered a setback when it was reveiled that the label couldn't afford to pay the costs of the projected recording sessions. Freed of their deal with the Brits, Bullet singed to Black Lodge in early 2005, entering Euphony Studios with producer Jonas Sundberg in May of the same year to record their debut full-length Heading For The Top. Prior to that album's release towards the end of April 2006, the band put in a high profile European gig earlier that month at Germany's Keep It True festival (alongside such great acts as Artillery, Cauldron, Defender, Diamond Head, Laaz Rockit, Lethal, Piledriver, Sabbat, and Twisted Tower Dire). The band's music is quite correctly described as "Grim AC/DC Metal", and this goes for most of this material's music, except perhaps for the short instrumental "City Of Sins". The lead singer is like a mix between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson (but leaning more towards the latter), as you will clearly hear by listening to the tracks posted at myspace.com/bulletsweden. Incidently, they've got all 11 tracks posted there, so even difficult music fans will be able to give the album a complete listening session before going out to buy the album. Well, that is, of course, when that typical AC/DC style is indeed your thing. Oh...didn't I hear a rumour somewhere that AC/DC themselves are finally recording a new album? This substitute will be touring Europe starting September 30. Well, at least pàrt of it, beginning with Portugal and Spain (2 shows each), they'll pass by Paris to go to Switzerland for a couple of shows, to continue with a full German tour (9 shows) and finish with several Scandinavian festival appearances starting November. They also have already a confirmed date for next year's Headbangers Open Air in Germany's Elshorn (July 23). Obviously, Bullet likes to do their planning well in advance. 85/100 Tony. |