Sunrise to Sundown Spiritual Beggars 2016 InsideOut Records Spiritual Beggars are a Heavy Metal band from Sweden that formed in 1992 by Michael Amott after he left Carcass. Spiritual Beggars play Metal with a huge 70’s Hard Rock/Psychedelic vibe that at times pushes towards Stoner and would appeal to fans of early Uriah Heep, Whitesnake and Mk III Deep Purple. Sunrise to Sundown is the 9th studio album by Spiritual Beggars and is the follow up to 2013’s Earth Blues and continues in a similar vein with Sunrise to Sundown whilst also carrying a huge Deep Purple influence. As mentioned above, Spiritual Beggars contains ex-Carcass and current Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott. Joining Amott is his fellow Arch Enemy bassist, Sharlee D’Angelo with Ludwig Witt of Grand Magus fame on the drums as well as live Grand Magus/Candlemass keyboardist Per Wiberg and ex-Firewind vocalist Apollo Papathanasio who replaced Grand Magus vocalist JB Christoffersson in 2010. The production for Sunrise to Sundown has been given the 70’s overhaul by Staffan Karlsson who is known for his retro 70’s Stoner sound and his work on Sunrise to Sundown is second to none. The word Stoner can often conjure up certain musical connotations, but do not let this put you off as Sunrise to Sundown has more akin to Deep Purple and Uriah Heep than say Monster Magnet or Fu Manchu, but could quite happily hold the middle ground appealing to both sets of fans; a testament to the writing of Spiritual Beggars and the production laid over by Karlsson. If you’re a fan of the ‘retro’ sound and have never heard Spiritual Beggars before then the opening title track will give you a taste of what to expect. The whole album has vocals that swing between a soulful David Coverdale, to a high David Byron and would highly appeal to either sets of fans. In fact, the tracks I Turn to Stone and Dark Light Child wouldn’t be out of place on Uriah Heep’s Demon’s and Wizards or Salisbury whilst Diamond Under Pressure’s heavy Hammond organ sound draws parallels to Deep Purple’s Might Just Take Your Life from 1974’s Burn. However, Spiritual Beggars aren’t all about living in the past, the bass groove of Lonely Freedom is so prominent that it will have your sub-woofer bouncing and has more akin to Stoner Rock with that smooth laid back desert sound showing that Spiritual Beggars are not a one trick pony of 70’s hero worship. Lonely Freedom is not only driven along by the awesome looping bass, but by some pounding drums as Witt shows a side of him that is sometimes masked by his performances in Grand Magus. Spiritual Beggars chose the track Hard Road to be the video single from Sunrise to Sundown and features a rather meaty riff, reminiscent of Blackmore standards and once more is driven forward by Witt’s phenomenal rhythmic drums, creating a song that is not only excellent, but also exceptionally catchy and full of hooks – a trend that flows that throughout the whole of Sunrise to Sundown. Sunrise to Sundown is a great album, as stated above, it is not just 70’s hero worship, but it is something else. It is a group of fantastic musicians who show that away from their respective bands are able to create an album without having the millstone of ‘supergroup’ tied around its neck and without having their work compared to their bands. Sunrise to Sundown is a great surprise that will appeal to a broad spectrum of fans because it is not just a good album, it is a lot of fun to listen to as well. 8/10 Adam
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