GEFF - review added 07th July 2009
Album Review: Land Of The Free (2009)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and Göran Edman's vocals (again)
GEFF is a new Swedish group featuring a few well known and not-so well known names from Scandinavian rock. Göran Edman (vocals), Anders Johansson (drums), Mats Olausson (keyboards) and Per Stadin (bass) have worked with acts such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall, Brazen Abbot and Jean Beauvoir over the years.
The lesser known member is guitarist, songwriter and founder member of GEFF, Ralf Jedestedt who makes his recording debut on Land Of The Free.
The sound is hard rocking with hints of prog and a strong keyboard presence. It comes across as a mix of the aforementioned Brazen Abbot plus Coldspell, Vindictiv and various other Swedish rock acts. The driving character in the sound is vocalist Göran Edman. The man seems be on about a quarter of the albums we review at present. I always thought Joe Lynn Turner was the releases-per-year champion, but he's got some serious competition here.
Land Of The Free kicks off with the cunningly spelt 'Xtacy'. It's an okay track with a nice rattling tempo. The composition is good but the chorus is way too understated. The song opens the album with a bang rather than an explosion. 'Fruits Of Life' however is much better. It's got a slow groove and has a-near classic 70's rock sound... but with a modern spin. The chorus again isn't anything special, but the rest of the song's talents more than make up for it.
'Pennywise and Pound Foolish' is an interesting track that's kind of catchy but also a touch anonymous. It sounds good but never really goes anywhere. The title is also so clichéd if you put it in your hand it would be worth two in a bush. 'Mr. Cain' has a Guns N' Roses feel to it, possibly mixed with a few hints of Oasis. it's a chilled track with a different vibe to the rest of the album and works well. Perhaps they should have made more tracks like this?!
'Fool’s Paradise' starts with a bassy drum led intro and turns into a funky mid-tempo number with plenty of Hammond organ bubbling under the surface. It's one of the better tracks and Göran is in especially good form. The drumming on 'Crusaders' sounds like Animal from the Muppets. The track has an epic feel to it, although you get the impression it could have been a lot better - there are some good concepts in the song that aren't fully realised. The keyboard solo is, however, bloody awesome.
This debut GEFF album shows a lot of promise and some good performances, but the end result isn't that great. It's all very, very okay. There are no massive songs and nothing particularly fresh or exciting. It simply treads ground that is already worn back to withered roots... and that's a bit of a waste considering the musicians who worked on the project. Apparently the guys are already working on a follow up album. I really hope they get some better songwriting because it's debatable whether another album like this will justify their time.
Check out... One of the other 10,000 albums Göran Edman has released this year.
Track List:
1. Xtacy
2. Fruits Of Life
3. Living Generation
4. Land Of The Free
5. Pennywise and Pound Foolish
6. Mr. Cain
7. Fool’s Paradise
8. Crusaders
9. Grey Goo
10. Innervations
Label: Metal Heaven
