ALBUM REVIEW: We Set The World On Fire – Freaks And Clowns
The United Kingdom may have given the world heavy metal, but Sweden are in certainly in the top five nations when it comes to developing and furthering the world we’ve grown to love so dearly. Whether it’s been their contributions to progressive and black metal, pretty much inventing the genre of melodic death metal, and everything from AMON AMARTH to GHOST and all in between, there’s much to be admired from the country that also gave us IKEA, cinnamon rolls and Tomas Brolin. Now, attempting to make their own mark are FREAKS AND CLOWNS from Borlänge, Dalarna. Formed by ASTRAL DOORS drummer Johan Lindstedt in 2017 alongside singer Chrille Wahlgren, the band have released two records prior to their latest, which this time sees Linstedt reunite with his bandmates Mats Gesar and Ulf Lagerström. The result is We Set The World On Fire, the band’s third record on Metalville and out on Friday January 28th.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say – ASTRAL DOORS are very much a Swedish institution thanks to their prolific back catalogue of power metal anthems over the past two decades. FREAKS AND CLOWNS are not so bombastic, but the roots within the classic sound of 80s metal are clear to see, only this time they’re supplemented with hard rock guitars that pump out riffs at a stupidly high rate. Not that this is unexpected of course, given the member’s main project, but as the title track goes from modern metal opening to IRON MAIDEN-esque leads and adds the Scandinavian flair from the likes of YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN, it’s a seriously impressive feat. Dogs Of War stomps impressively, a fist-pumping cry of the title setting it up well, while Dance Of War, despite a rather cringey spoken word intro, holds the catchiest chorus of all the songs here; no mean feat given there’s about a million present.
Where this album falters chiefly, however, is its staying power. It’s definitely fun, but there’s not much in terms of depth to the tracks; you wouldn’t find much new on repeated listens. It’s very likely that that’s not the point of FREAKS AND CLOWNS, that the band are together purely for the hell of it and letting off steam when they’re not committed elsewhere, but if this is the first thing you’re hearing that’s at all related to ASTRAL DOORS, it doesn’t draw you in nearly enough to invest in other albums or bands. Additionally, with 13 tracks landing at just under an hour, it’s too long; an album that’s as ‘on the surface’ as this gets stale once you’re into tracks with double figures and, consequently, the last three songs are a bit of a slog to appreciate. If We Set The World On Fire had been shorter, with the finishing trio packaged up for a bonus edition later down the line, there would have been a greater impact than what is here.
Side projects, as FREAKS AND CLOWNS are, rarely supersede the bands they formed from because, at a very base level, they’re just an excuse to play something different. This will be no exception; We Set The World On Fire isn’t scraping the bottom of any particular musical barrel, but it’s rarely living up to its name either. An enjoyable hour of music if you’re a fan of big guitars and shrill vocals, but there’s little more here.
Rating: 6/10
We Set The World On Fire is set for release on January 28th via Metalville.
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