The Quill, the Swedish hard rockers from Mönsterås in Småland, the more they grow as a band, the more fine records they make. This is a fact. Their latest album, “Master of the Skies” – soon to be released – is a bright example of this statement. How else you can describe the thing about a band constantly challenging themselves and pushing their boundaries to be better and better all the time.
The album starts with the s/t track, and trust me, this is a very heavy one with a massive groove where you get immediately into the album’s context. The guitars are massive, crispy and very heavy. Magus Ekwall, one of my personal favorite hard roc singers exceeds himself on this album. He has done a fantastic work, and this is of course no news, but, truly, he shines on this album. Coming back to the guitars, ‘You Can Not Kill My Soul’ kicks off with a beautiful and calming acoustic guitar and a slower paced vocals, combined with a menacing electric guitar riffing, emphatic drums and the heavily convincing bass lines, showing this variety and perfect mix within the same song. Simply brilliant! The album gets more and more interesting with the more psychedelic piece ‘It’s Over’, where again, the groove is menacing and the vibes are heavy. This particular one brings some nostalgia and some old-school The Quill feeling to their fans, and it is one of my favorite tunes of the album.
What flows freely throughout this record is the band’s confidence and their unique character which has been their trademark all those years. ‘Son of Light’ continues the acoustic journey in a mellow and soothing manner, where the album “takes a break”, slows down a bit before the heavy guitars take over again with ‘If Tomorrow never comes’ another groovy and “galloping” piece. This album is so good! Another nostalgic one, the classic Quill way is ‘Now You are Gone”. ‘Lights Turn Low’ showcases the fuzzy guitars of Christian Carlsson and is another great song, where the whole band showcases their skills and dynamism. ‘Mastodon’ is like a small album within an album, a nine minutes thirty seconds brilliant piece where all the Quill elements are blended and where the band is jamming together, “live, in studio”. I particularly like on this one the drums, the way they have been put together, their sound, just fantastic!
“Master of the Skies” is a fantastic album by one of Sweden’s finest and greatest bands ever. These guys have done an incredible job, pushing themselves further, exploring new territories, but keeping all those elements, deeply found in their DNA throughout the years. This record reminds us not only how good they are but also, they can produce some fine piece of music that appeals to hard rock fans and also respects their status out there.
9/10
Tracklist:
01 – Master of the Skies
02 – Dark City
03 – You Can Not Kill My Soul
04 – It’s Over
05 – Son of Light
06 – If Tomorrow Never Comes
07 – Now You Are Gone
08 – Light Turns Low
09 – Mastodon
10 – Master of the Skies (Reprise)
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