Spiritual Beggars
Sunrise to Sundown
InsideOut Music
2016
Spiritual Beggars have been around for a very long time and “Sunrise to Sundown” marks their ninth release and I think their third with Apollo Papathanasio, the former Firewind singer, who might not be Spice or JB, but still has a very 70s compatible voice that works well in the context of things.
Well, while Arch Enemy seems to be taking up most of Amott’s time, he always seems to find enough time to come up with “Beggars” material and it seems to be an expression of quite the more creative side of him, despite this being a less complex proposition compared to the aforementioned Arch Enemy. A nice amalgam of Heep, Purple, Mountain and the rest, under a somewhat more modern prism, but always returning a nice warm vibe and a rocking attitude, seems to work fine, despite the slight departure from their more stoner past.
The opening statement of the title track “Sunrise to Sundown” is pretty intense and interesting with some nice guitar interplay.
“Diamond Under Pressure” stinks of Purple, to the point of copyright infringement, not really… but you get the idea…
“What Doesn’t Kill You” is a nice quasi hit, with similar qualities and some nice Hammond.
“Hard Road” is ahem, harder hitting and equally as nice.
“Still Hunter” is a story about a stalker that might not be “right” but creeps upon you, little but little.
“No Man’s Land” is groovy but a bit more underwhelming song and while “I Turn to Stone” isn’t that much interesting, it manages to avoid a yawn, by being very percussive and laced with eastern melodies.
“Dark Light Child” is another fairly straightforward number, driven by a strong riff that ain’t good or bad, it just is.
“Lonely Freedom” borrows a lick from “Dissident Aggressor” and elaborates on it, feeding on a 70s cornucopia of influences.
“You’ve Been Fooled” sort of comes up as a bit of a surprising as it is way too hard hitting after probably the loosest song on the album and while the Whitesnake force is strong with it, it’s not all that amazing…
Lastly, “Southern Star” returns to the Purple-ish daze and does so quite exemplary…
“Sunrise to Sundown” is a pretty solid album, with only a few lesser songs after its middle that are however not complete fillers, just a little weaker. If you like 70s inspired rock with an updated production, you can’t go too wrong with them beggarz.
Well, while Arch Enemy seems to be taking up most of Amott’s time, he always seems to find enough time to come up with “Beggars” material and it seems to be an expression of quite the more creative side of him, despite this being a less complex proposition compared to the aforementioned Arch Enemy. A nice amalgam of Heep, Purple, Mountain and the rest, under a somewhat more modern prism, but always returning a nice warm vibe and a rocking attitude, seems to work fine, despite the slight departure from their more stoner past.
The opening statement of the title track “Sunrise to Sundown” is pretty intense and interesting with some nice guitar interplay.
“Diamond Under Pressure” stinks of Purple, to the point of copyright infringement, not really… but you get the idea…
“What Doesn’t Kill You” is a nice quasi hit, with similar qualities and some nice Hammond.
“Hard Road” is ahem, harder hitting and equally as nice.
“Still Hunter” is a story about a stalker that might not be “right” but creeps upon you, little but little.
“No Man’s Land” is groovy but a bit more underwhelming song and while “I Turn to Stone” isn’t that much interesting, it manages to avoid a yawn, by being very percussive and laced with eastern melodies.
“Dark Light Child” is another fairly straightforward number, driven by a strong riff that ain’t good or bad, it just is.
“Lonely Freedom” borrows a lick from “Dissident Aggressor” and elaborates on it, feeding on a 70s cornucopia of influences.
“You’ve Been Fooled” sort of comes up as a bit of a surprising as it is way too hard hitting after probably the loosest song on the album and while the Whitesnake force is strong with it, it’s not all that amazing…
Lastly, “Southern Star” returns to the Purple-ish daze and does so quite exemplary…
“Sunrise to Sundown” is a pretty solid album, with only a few lesser songs after its middle that are however not complete fillers, just a little weaker. If you like 70s inspired rock with an updated production, you can’t go too wrong with them beggarz.