For years, the name Captain Black Beard has popped up a bit here, there and everywhere without me gotten the urge to check them out. Fact is, it was only last year that I realized that the band came from Sweden. In my mind, I pictured a bunch of big, overweight, bearded guys, playing some kind of coarse, hard-driven, rowdy form of Stoner Rock with gravely vocals. I’m not a fan of that so I just let them slide. The band was formed back in 2009 and when they released their self-titled debut album in 2011, Classic Rock Magazine hailed it as one of the best albums of that year. After that the follow-ups came out in a pretty fast pace: Before Plastic (2014), It’s A Mouthful (2016) and Struck By Lightning (2018).
Formed by guitarist Christian Ek, bassist Robert Majd and drummer Vinnie Stromberg and lead singer Sakaria Björklund, Björklund quit the band in 2016 after lots of touring opening for such acts as Robin beck, House Of Lords and Joe Lynn Turner. With a new singer in Liv Hansson and producer, H.E.A.T keysman Jona Tee in tow they entered the studio to record Struck By Lightning. But that line-up was short-lived as Hansson jumped ship pretty much right away after the album’s release so for the upcoming tour, Linnea Vikström (ex- Therion) filled in as a temporary replacement and when she wasn’t available anymore, the band recruited a male singer for the first time in Martin Holsner, for starters only for the remaining of the tour but in time he grew into the band and when they now releases their fourth album, Holsner is a permanent member of the band. For me, this album is my first acquaintance with the band.
The album opens with the leading single “Headlights” – and I’m in for a surprise. Is this how they actually sound? Maybe I should have guessed as the album was produced by another H.E.A.T-member, guitarist Dave Dalone. It’s a poppy number, uptempo with a big mid 80’s sound that dwells right in the middle of Melodic Rock and AOR. It do rock but with a glossy and slick outlook and a smoother groove. The chorus is pretty direct and catches on pretty much right off the bat. I quite dig this, yes. “Lights And Shadows” is a bit heavier and grittier, an upbeat pop-rocker on a straight-forward note. The soundscape is smooth and leans towards AOR but it also contains a chunky dose of Hard Rock which gives it a more punchy edge. Great stuff.
With a title like “Disco Volante”, you might be bracing yourself for a full-on disco-belter. But it’s actually not. This is a punchier kind of pop-rocker with a slick and glossy outlook and a stompy beat. It’s really a party-blaster with lots of hooks and a spot-on refrain, made for a good all-nighter where the party is endless. Damn good. “Tonight” is a mid-paced half-ballad that is very big on the keyboards and a sound that tells us we’re back in 1987. The melodies are all silky and memorable, the chorus is smooth and catchy without going down cheese-lane. A great songs that smells like a hit for miles. Very good.
Latest single and the album’s title-track opens with a synthesizer from the mid 80’s and then continues as an uptempo pop-rocker with both guitars and keyboards sharing the space in the mix. It’s a splendid AOR track with lots of Journey vibes, especially in the refrain where traces of “Separate Ways” can be spotted. I’m not talking theft here, only a few borrowings – but it’s like they say, if you shall borrow, borrow from the best. To me, this is a great summer-track and it needs to be a hit immediately. Third outing “Time To Deliver” is a much punchier rocker with a bigger Hard Rock outlook. Style-wise, it’s where H.E.A.T and Palace gets together to show us how 1986 sounded – slick and smooth yet straight-forward and rocking with hooks everywhere and a super-glue chorus. Very good indeed.
Second teaser “Midnight Cruiser” is more uptempo pop-rock with a big keyboard soundscape but this one also holds some stellar, meaty riffing with a crunchy guitar sound which is carried by a solid rhythm on a straight-forward pace that brings on a raunchy live-feel. On top, there’s once again a humongous refrain that will leave you humming it for days – the hit-potential here is endless. A real killer! “Young Hearts” is cute pop-song that tries its best to reach AOR status with some rock-twists taken right out of the mid 80’s. Blipping synthesizers, glossy harmonies, sugary melodies and chart-pop hooklines… well you get the drift. The chorus is very close to a sugar-rush but is at the same time irresistible and impossible not to surrender to. Catchy don’t even begin to describe it. I think it’s brilliant.
They pick up the speed with “Gotham City”, an uptempo, fat and crunchy yet both slick and poppy number that combines AOR-ish melodies with a foundation based on Hard Rock. Some of the vocal-melodies reminds me, again, of Palace which brings on the hitty hooks and the chorus is very direct and sticks right on the spot. It holds a straight ahead pop-rock rhythm and even though the tune holds some crunchiness, I wouldn’t have minded a little more grit here. Closing track “Emptiness” is a half-ballad where 80’s Pop meets AOR with a slice of West Coast for good measure. The tune holds a somewhat upbeat groove but is also very pink, fluffy and slick with a mountain of synthesizers – and a saxophone. It’s much more a Pop song than even AOR. The main melody is really hard to escape and the chorus holds enough hooks to sell. It’s a good song – even though it’s a departure from the rest of the album – but it’s actually a bit too sugary for me.
First of all, the band’s name – and the album’s title, as a matter of fact – do not fit the music at all. Captain Black Beard was a pirate, for crying out loud – hard, brutal and probably a psychopath. The title Sonic Forces screams Metal! That being said, when this has gotten used to, what we get here is a really good album, focused and competent – and that does not mean boring at all. It’s well-performed, well-produced and the song-writing skills are high and leaves the filler-quota down to zero. But what bugs me about the record is that it sounds too slick, even though they don’t copy the Scandi-AOR sound at all. A little more punch, some edge and grit – and some more attitude wouldn’t have hurt. All in all, it should have rocked more – and harder. Still, with songs as good as these, it’s impossible to give the record a lower score and for big fans of Melodic Rock and AOR, it would be a huge mistake not to check it out.
7/10
Tracklist:
1. Headlights
2. Lights And Shadows
3. Disco Volante
4. Tonight
5. Sonic Forces
6. Time To Deliver
7. Midnight Cruiser
8. Young Hearts
9. Gotham City
10. Emptiness
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