I`ve been listening to this disc every couple days since I bought it and it isn`t getting stale. What was it about this band that made them so damn listenable? As much as I love riff-based rock, a lot of it starts off kicking my ass, then gets old pretty fast. ASTROQUEEN just seemed different and I couldn`t pin down why. Couldn`t be the lyrics, which range from cool to just plain silly. Couldn`t be the tunes themselves; they`re solid, but nothing so unusual that they make the disc a classic all by themselves. There`s the vocals, which I`ve already pointed out have more guts and soul than most any other stoner rock band out there. But even that wasn`t it. Well, that left the guitars. And that`s it. Pretty simple, really. This band makes cooler guitar sounds than just about anybody. Leads can come in at any time and can sound very different within the same song, which adds up to an amazing variety of diverse licks across the album. How do these dudes playing in a garage in Sweden get such kickass guitar voices? I don`t know, but I`m glad they do. Man, I`d kill to see these guys live.

Emerald

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