I promise that I didn’t intentionally plan on dropping back to back reviews of Swedish acts today, but considering what a vast history the country has of producing excellent hard and heavy bands, both you nor I should be too surprised. Last Friday, we presented you with an in-depth discussion with up and coming rockers, Teaser Sweet. Today, we’re thrilled to present to you our very own deep dive into their fourth and latest full length, Night Stalker. Their first on High Roller Records, Night Stalker adheres to the old school ’80s metal ethos of keeping it short and sweet (no pun intended). There’s no fancy pretensions or overblown pomp and circumstance, just hard and heavy rock n’ roll cranked to 11.
Over the course of just a little over 35 minutes, Teaser Sweet bash out 8 songs that, while linked together in spirit, all stand on their own, portraying varying shades of hard rock and heavy metal circa the era’s glory days of the ’80s. Unlike the lion’s share of NWOTHM that crosses my radar these days, Night Stalker is anything but one-note, packed with air-guitar worthy riffs, kickass hooks, and enough energy to power a small village or two. Sure, the Priest and Maiden comparisons are inevitable on straightaway traditional metal bangers like the opening title track and “Eat You Alive”, but Teaser Sweet execute these nuances with their own unique twist.
Scattered amidst these old school headbangers are tasty ’70s flavored hard rockers like “Deep in the Woods” and “Blue Sky”. “Deep in the Woods” boasts the hard-nosed attitude and adventurous guitar licks of prime Thin Lizzy, while “Blue Sky” starts as a haunting ballad before evolving into a full-fledged shred-fest, unfolding like one of those guitar-driven epics you’d expect to close a Blackfoot album. There’s also melodically inclined cuts like “Turn Me On” and “Living in Sin” that have “hit single” written all over them, the latter boasting some of the best hooks I’ve heard in any rock song in the past decade, period.
As strong as the songs themselves are the performances. Frontwoman Therese Damberg is the “sweet” in Teaser Sweet, her delicate tone and soaring range contrasting the ferocity of the guitars, bass, and drums. Brother Marcus lays down one raucous riff after the next, amidst solos in the tradition of Tipton and Downing, British Steel via Sweden! Holding it all together are bassist Hampus Steenberg and drummer Kent Svensson, battering us on the head with a steady-driving four on the floor attack. Put it all together and you’ve got the ever-rocking, ever-charming Teaser Sweet.
Night Stalker is a rocking slab of hard and heavy nostalgia, yet without sounding derivative of any of the acts who paved the way for Teaser Sweet. Let me put it this way: You know how Halestorm THINKS they sound? That’s how Teaser Sweet actually sounds. No bloated major label production. No suicidal post-grunge riffs. Nothing remotely “modern” in the slightest (thank the lord). Just pure classic metal mania from start to finish, and I wouldn’t ask for anything more.
8 out of 10
Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Judas Priest, Time Rift, Freeways
Leave a Reply