Review Summary: This is what you get if you cross acid rock from the '60s with some Black Sabbath and a little touch of blues rock. But, wait: this is from 2020!
Last year I had the opportunity to take a rock history course at university, which especially focused on the musical trends '60s and the early '70s. And most interestingly, nowadays we are witnessing the "revival" of that kind of music. Lately many great rock bands have been appearing in the underground, releasing excellent material which respectfully brings back that specific and iconic sound. As I noticed, Sweden is on the top of producing bands with this kind of aim, and the huge amount of old-school-worshipping releases coming out these days is incredible.
Ball is one of those Swedish bands whose sound equals to a journey back in time, and in
Like You Are… I Once Was… Like I Am – You Will Never Be they managed to push this vibe even further. Right at the start,
'Satan's Wish' hits the listener with rusty-tasty fuzz and a sweet old-school aura, and recreates the sound of a dusty old
Taste vinyl which was laying around in your attic since 1969. And that's really impressive studio-work re-creating that sound so perfectly. Beyond the tasty aesthetics, it is not hard to notice the various influences behind this album, which include blues rock by Rory Gallagher, the haunting occult vibes by good ol' Black Sabbath and the mesmerizing and vivid '70s psychedelic rock sound. However, the "rusty" vocals, the occult-centered lyrical content, and the combination of these more or less different trends and influences somewhat gives a modern edge to this album - like a new flavour. Even though this kind of imagery wasn't strange back then, it is distinctive enough to make it clear to the listener that this album is a product of our modern times.
Like You Are… I Once Was… Like I Am – You Will Never Be is a simply amazing fuzzy psychedelic rock journey, and like a musical gateway between the past and the present, it has the potential to please music lovers both old and young.
