Graveyard - Graveyard - 2008 Tee Pee Records

Graveyard - Self Titled (2008) Tee Pee Records
This is the album that got me into the genre of music that I currently listen to. I happened to be browsing rollingstone.com in search for information on Stone Temple Pilots when I came across a small two paragraph article one of the writers had written on Graveyard after seeing them at the SXSW festival in 2007. The picture of the band is what stuck out to me and drew me to read the article. I tried to find the article for reference to this review but it has disappeared off of the website. Anyways, it was mentioned that they were good and they put on a solid show. The author mentioned that fans of Cream and Pink Floyd would like these guys. I like Pink Floyd, come on now, who doesn't? A quick Google search came up with a few links with their Myspace page being the first one. The first few seconds of the first track posted, Thin Line had me hooked. I was frantic. I had to have the album and I had to have it now! I looked on Ebay and placed a few bids on some auctions. I then decided to check iTunes. It was on iTunes so I bought it. A few hours later I checked my email and got some messages from Ebay. I won not one but two auctions for Graveyards cd. I was now the owner of two physical copies of the album as well as one digital copy. I got two other people I know hooked on the album so I was able to recoup a little bit back and turned a few others into fans of the band.

Here is the bands description as copied from their Myspace page: Born in Gothenburg, November 2006. We recorded our first two songs after about one month. After just a few months and a couple of shows we signed with Transubstans records & TeePee records. Our debut album is available from Transubstans if you live in Europe and from Teepee if you live in North America. See banners below. Vinyl versions are available in both Europe and the states. The album is produced by Don Ahlsterberg (Soundtrack of our lives, the International Noise Conspiracy, José Gonzalez, Division of Laura Lee etc)

The album has two things I like about right off of the bat. It's not to long with nine songs and total listening time of less then 40 minutes. The second is the unique sound from the way it was recorded to the tuning of the instruments. The whole album has a definite late 60's to mid 70's sound to it. The band recorded the album in analog to give it that unique sound to it. Add in a little bit of psychedelic tones here and there in songs such as "As The Years Pass By, The Hours Bend" and the album captures that whole feel from that time frame. Flat out the whole album rocks and rocks hard! I would agree with the author of the Rollingstone article that fans of Pink Floyd would like these guys but don't expect any off the wall or trippy movements in the music like in "Dark Side of The Moon" or "The Wall." This album doesn't have it.

There is a lyric in the last song, "Satan's Finest" that says "making you want them, and begging for more." It rings true with this album. After my first listen I was begging for more. That was well over a year ago and to this day I'm still waiting for more music from these guys because I know they're capable of more great music. They did do a five week tour in the US recently but I unfortunately was unable to attend. I may have to wait another year or two until they come out this way again, hopefully not. I did come across a bootleg of the Roadburn show they played in 2007 and if that is an indication of how good they are live then everyone is in for a treat.

Introduction

Hello, this is my first real foray into the blogging world. This first post is just a little introduction and what I'll be covering on the blog.

First off this blog will be here for me to give my reviews on albums in the hard/metal/stoner/heavy rock genre. It'll mostly be from independent artists but from time to time may cover more mainstream albums depending on the albums and artists themselves. Since this review blog is about music pertaining to my taste in music, it may be a little biased. I'm pretty opened minded so I tend to listen to a lot. I listen to or can stomach all kinds of music except for rap and most R&B. Not to knock those that do like those genres but it's not my cup of tea.

My objective is quite simple, review music, get people to read it and hopefully get others to listen to music as a result. It's a win all for all involved. I listen to great music, recommend it to others which turns them on to the respective bands. The bands then get more exposure, more album sales and bigger turnouts at their live shows and events. I would also like to point out that the reviews will be off of albums that I actually physically own, or in the case of iTunes, purchased digitally. I know that there are a lot of ways to obtain music both legally and illegally but I will not discuss them here. I will admit that I have discovered a LOT of great music through all these means. Unless an album really blows my mind and I must share it, I won't be reviewing albums until I get the actual cd/digital download in my hand/hard drive. Even if it is that good, I will have already placed my order for it. It's my way of saying thanks to the bands and supporting them.

I'm going to be leaving the comments section open so that anyone that wishes to leave their opinion or even start a discussion can do so. I do ask that everyone please refrain from flaming each other and name calling. I won't tolerate that at all.

I'll also be looking into trying to get interviews when I can from any band members in the bands that I write about and support. If any record labels want to send me review copies or their latest artists releases for a review I'll be happy to accept them. The same goes for any independant artists. If you have mp3 files or a physical cd, you can contact me through the email at rockingdoxie@gmail.com for the info.

Besides music I am into photography and NHL hockey. My favorite team is the Chicago Blackhawks. The origin of the blog name is based off of my two dachshunds I own. Their names are Blackhawk and Red Wing. Two great hockey teams, two great dogs, one great rivalry. Blackhawk is a black & cream long hair and Red Wing is a short hair red & cream. I got them three weeks apart. We had Blackhawk and since the red & cream sounded like red wing, well we went with the name. It also didn't help that the Blackhawks and Red Wings were playing each other in the playoffs at the time we got the dogs.

My first review will be from the band that got me into the genre. Sweden's own Graveyard. The review isn't finished yet and I should have it posted within the next day or so. I'm going to try to get at least two reviews a week done but I am a full time worker and full time father of three young children so those other duties may interfere. Off to the side of the main blog will be a little section where I list my recent purchases. You can almost always expect a full review of those titles. It may not be the day I get them but it will pop up.

I'll be asking for people to send me their comments, suggestions and constructive critisim either in the comments section or via email @ rockingdoxie@gmail.com . So sit back, relax and enjoy.