hardcore superstar beg for it

Released: 03 June 2009 Label: Nuclear Blast

Beg For It, Hardcore Superstar’s seventh studio album, sees a shift to the Nuclear Blast label at a time when the band finally seems to be getting the recognition it more than deservedly deserves for its catchy sleaze Swedish ‘street metal’.

A rather surprising start sees the album opening with an instrumental track that appears to be a tribute to Morricone Ennio, the man responsible for the Spaghetti Western themes. Spanish guitars and whistling horns have you picturing the band walking through the deserted town in the dust dressed as cowboys, tumbleweed passing in the background and John Wayne appearing on his trusty steed for a shoot out at the OK Corral. Rather odd, but when their days of sleaze rock are numbered there’s probably a lucrative future in film score writing beckoning, it’s beautiful.

Title track Beg For It then kicks with the more expected HCSS sound, and has already gone to number one in the single charts and sold gold in Sweden. When this song was originally aired on MySpace well before the album release, at first listening it seemed a little generic and HCSS by numbers to me. But dozens of listens later it’s grown on me massively. Into Debauchery is also old skool Hardcore, catchy but with the high-pitched screaming vocals.

Shades of Grey is where things take a slightly interesting turn. Whether the introduction of Vic Zino on guitar has had such a dramatic influence, or whether it was just the direction the band were already travelling in, Shades of Grey is the start on the album of more maturity, and more versatility. This certainly cannot be accused of being HCSS by numbers anymore and there are some amazingly pleasant melodies in this composition. It feels like there are more 80s influences but they’ve come through in a refreshed street metal for the naughties that then appears regularly throughout the album. Magnus “Adde" Andreasson throws in the cowbell at critical moments (or pretty much non-stop on the gloriously 80s anthem Take ‘em All Out). Zino doesn’t over do the guitar solos but gives a real taster of what he can do. They get the balance just right.

The beautiful semi-acoustic Hope For a Normal Life highlights this transition to a more mature and diverse sounding HCSS, and does something else that doesn’t normally happen on a HCSS album… it shows off just how lovely singer Jocke Berg’s voice can be when he’s not screeching in his usual sleaze rock style. That style suits normal Hardcore tracks brilliantly, but he tones it down for this pretty number, which also has a charming key change. I would kill to see them do some acoustic shows.

Berg takes us on the usual lyrical journey of his battles with his demons and his teetering on the brink of insanity. Singing of nervous breakdowns, removing his brain, hanging himself and finding ways to kill himself. This is certainly no miserable lament though, as any existing Hardcore Superstar fan will know. It’s another slab of brilliantly written hard melodic aggressive in your face sleaze rock (with cowbells on).

Hardcore’s eponymously titled HCSS album (also known as The Black Album) is in my top five albums of all time. I didn’t think they’d ever match it. I was wrong. Beg For It still has their distinctive sound and passion, but with more twists, more creativity, more maturity, more diversity, more melody. I’m utterly, completely in love with it.

by Lynn Wyeth