Sweden has been the birthplace of an amazing amount of talented musicians working in a multiple of musical styles. This list would include, but not be limited to: Abba, Amon Amarth, Candlemass, The Cardigans, Dungen, Elliphant, The Flower Kings, Gemini, Hammerfall, The Hellacopters, The Hives, and on and on and on through every letter of the alphabet and numeric names and more. Now it’s time to welcome Velvet Insane, a rock band, to this internationally renowned star-studded Scandinavian family of entertainers.
The Velvet Insane band lineup includes Jesper Lindgren on guitar, Jonas Eriksson on lead vocals, Niklas Henriksson on bass and Tobias Reimbertsson on percussion. Henriksson and Reimbertsson form the tightly knit rhythm section upon which Eriksson and Lindgren energetically erect carefully crafted melodies and soaring soundscapes. When it comes to songwriting the Velvet Insane modus operandi in structure packs a punch like chugging a 1.75 liter bottle of ice cold Absolut Vodka on an empty stomach before breakfast. Know what I’m saying?
Their self-titled debut album on the independent label called Garden Of Sweden Records consists of ten tunes that span the range of alternative to hard rock. The songs are as riff heavy as they are radio friendly hook filled numbers. Behind the microphone Jonas sings with such intensity and emotion it would make a nonbeliever believe this vocalist from the land of the Vikings was being chased by the devil down a steep path to the hot brimstone flames of hell. His comfort zone is audibly in the mid to high tones and he rarely ventures down into a baritone or bass range as he wails like a banshee after midnight.
Jesper holds the helm steady on both electric and acoustic guitar parts throughout the record. On electric guitar he shines the brightest on tracks like High On Love, Break Out Of Eden, Nottingman, and King Of The Foolish. On tracks like Coffee, Jazz And Arts and Lincoln Road he’s your acoustic guitar go-to-guy. Just like Poison’s 1988 hit, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Velvet Insane’s Six Steps Away is the power ballad where the whole band comes together to ignite brighter than Galileo’s Aurora Borealis in the northern polar skies. Just like that aurora it sends chills down your spine and goose bumps up your back.
As debuts go, Velvet Insane is a solid sonic offering for their muses (do we have Euterpe, Terpsichore and Clio in the house tonight?) and fans alike. There’s a little something for everyone with that dash of je ne sais pas (as our French friends are often prone to remark when they’re at a loss for the right words) mixed in for good measure. Velvet Insane is scheduled to go on their next world tour later this year so my advice to you would be to buy a ticket and take the ride. Why? Because I think for Velvet Insane it’s going to get kind of crazy as the year goes on.
