Release:
Gaphals
6. Nov. 2020
Info:
SECOND SUN has done it again. A brand new, already outdated album that your senses will not be able to guard you against. Who in their right mind releases a concept album in 2020? In this day and age completely based on digital playlists, singles, and songs that are tailor made to ear-worm themselves into your brain after the first chorus on the first listen. Who are these madmen who decided to play every note like it will be the last that they will play in their life, like the sigh of their final breath? Or are they in fact brilliant scientists who carefully calculated it all, to the minutest detail? As always, the truth lies somewhere in between.
"Kampen Går Vidare" ("The Struggle Continues") is the third full-length from the Stockholm-based group. The album is due to be released on Gaphals Records, also known as the bloodhounds-, or truffle pigs for that matter, of qualitative Swedish underground music. The album addresses the political convictions of an adult human being, from a blissful rebel, through phases of clarity of mind, uprising, eagerness in the spirit of change; to the hardened cynic, ridden with doubts of indifference and weariness of the world. These states of mind are familiar to most people, and sometimes these conflicting sensations can even have their firm grip on your body and mind, all at the same time.
This gripping story is being told accompanied by the, by now almost trademarked, tonal signum that is SECOND SUN’s music. With traces of ambitious folk/prog/hard-rock and an underlying sense of Swedish anguish, it comes topped of with the best of the NWOBHM-influences that you’ve never heard. The missing link between “Heaven & Hell”, “Thick As A Brick” and “Secret Treaties”, if you will.
“We wanted to make something grand and narrative; we love albums like “The Crimson Idol” and “Welcome To My Nightmare”, and I felt that it’s a good way of writing music that paints a full picture.” Comments Jakob Ljungberg, the founder, lead singer and guitarist of the group. “We made two runs in the studio, the first one where we recorded the most part of the A-side, was in the summer of 2019. In this part of the narrative. our protagonist still has some hope for the future in most aspects. By the time we recorded the major part of the material for the B-side, where our protagonist has fallen to cynicism and is feeling sick and tired of it all; season had changed to the harsh grip of Swedish melancholy winter. It was tough work to get the right vibe for the vocals sometimes, but Robert has a keen ear for the right feeling, when it comes to what makes a good take.” Jakob continues.
The “Robert” referred to is Robert Pehrsson, famous for his work as guitarist/singer and songwriter in bands such as Dundertåget, Death Breath and Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker. Robert is the man behind the desk that captured, mixed and mastered “Kampen Går Vidare” in his own Studio Humbucker, in Stockholm. Speaking of the Swedish rock elite, the album features hand drawn album artwork by Jonathan Hultén from Tribulation, and Thea Åslund from Ill Wicker has added strings for the musical composition.
As with all other albums, the question is: How will it stand the test of time? One can only speculate at this point, and we’ll leave that for the future to tell. It’s already an anomaly of an album in this day and age, but if you like it, there’s a big chance you’ll eventually come to love it.
"Hatar det ändå" - Official Video Clip: https://youtu.be/oXyrRZxy8zg
Tracklist:
1. Sång om våren
2. Du är allt du har
3. Slå tillbaks
4. Attack
5. Kampen går vidare
6. Hatar det ändå
7. Vem ska bry sig
8. Om alla bara var mer som jag
9. Gör alltid ditt bästa för de du älskar
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