Graveyard

Sweden’s Graveyard draws from semi-obvious influences, but especially from Black Sabbath (the guitar riff on “Don’t Take Us for Fools” is dangerously close to Sabbath’s “Paranoid”). Vocalist Joakim Nilsson shows great vocal range and sounds at times like Robert Plant. He even recalls a young Glenn Danzig (post-Misfits) on “Thin Line.” So Graveyard isn’t adding much to what we already have. But while the album doesn’t stray far from the murky psychedelic realm, it’s certainly not one-dimensional. “Blue Soul” is a beautifully arranged track with a slow climax, while “Satan’s Finest,” aside from having a killer name, displays that wild ’60s-style chord progression you don’t hear a lot nowadays. The album’s not for haters of nostalgia, but fans of swampy guitar and trippy vocals will be very pleased.