You really need balls to call yourself ‘heavy’ in a Metal band. To decide to put the word ‘Heavy’ in the band’s name when you come from Sweden, home of Candlemass, In Flames, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy et al you need MASSIVE FLAMING BALLS of steel. To be the HOUSE of heavy? You should be off the scale. So just how heavy are House of heavy? As heavy as an elephant? As a robotic killer/blue whale hybrid? Ok it is one of those contextual things. Had I been writing this in 1984 I would probably have been running to the hills in terror. In 2009? Er well, not so much.
To be uncharacteristically fair to the purported heavyweights in question, Henrik Lundberg and Matthias Wellhag, formerly of Swedish somebodies Masquerade, don’t have much inclination to compete in terms of heaviness. ‘House of Heavy’ is written firmly for the Japanese market, where Masquerade achieved their commercial success. As such don’t expect much intensity or innovation. Lundberg and Wellhag aren’t out to change the world. Looking like an ageing Bros, or Simon Cowell’s less successful brothers, their publicity dwells more on their guitars than their creativity. The unassuming Swedes’ highest aspiration for ‘House of Heavy’ is that it is ‘… the proof that you can make good sounding record (sic) with little or no budget….’.
Pretty encouraging? Perhaps not - but have they succeeded? If the record is a testimony to Lundberg’s ability as a producer, the answer is a definite yes. Considering this was recorded in the two band members’ respective houses of heavy, it sounds immense. The guitars are crisp and monstrous, the vocals are clear and strong, the drums thunder away and cleverly deployed synths lend atmosphere.
While it is unfair to dwell on the one cover on the album, ‘House of Heavy’
features a crunching version of Def Leppard’s ‘Billy’s Got a Gun’, which easily equals Mutt Lange’s legendary production while adding the weight the original so needed. The one drawback is that it is the standout track on the album and is more likely to send the listener on a pointless quest to dust off some ancient copy of ‘Pyromania’ than put ‘House of Heavy’ back on.
As one might expect / would secretly hope from a self-recorded album, House of Heavy includes some cheerfully bizarre moments. Witness the curious sample of ‘Amazing Grace’ at the beginning of the not so exciting ‘God vs God’. There also appears to be fairground music on ‘Ride Shotgun’, ultimately sounding like House of Heavy are trying to jam with ‘70s tomfools Gryphon.
Aside from these gripes, ‘House of Heavy’ is certainly in the ‘good effort’ category, and there is plenty here to interest Metal fans who liked Def Leppard but have also been keeping up to date with newer sounds. House of Heavy are from The Leps’ school of songwriting, so there is plenty to shout along to, but the riffs are occasionally thunderous, putting this into the realms of 1990s crossover. The first proper track ‘Warpaint’ hurtles along like Life/Sex/Death with Joe Elliott on vocals. Other tracks follow similar patterns to good effect. The guitars pump nicely enough throughout and the Wellhag and Lundberg are certainly good enough musicians to keep the thing entertaining.
Better still there are enough moments of quality here to attract a wider audience. Check out the opening moments of ‘Broken’ for some kickass-ish guitar for instance. They even manage a modicum of humour. Any song called ‘The Blues’ is certainly one to be listened to with trepidation, and the dread sound of a weedy harmonica does mar the introduction, before happily it kicks into something like a cross between Great White and Soundgarden. While the spandex-clad shadow of Def Leppard looms unthreateningly over this album, House of Heavy break up the 80-isms with plenty of up-to-date sounds. It gets FAIRLY heavy in the right places, then it gets synth-y as on the very Leppard-ish ‘Stay’, and Lundberg even manage a touch of edgy gothism on ‘My Black Rose’.
All in all it seems a waste that House of Heavy seem to be concentrating on the Japanese market. Despite their apparent lack of ambition they do have something to offer, and have gained enough momentum to secure the service of ex-Shotgun Messiah Stix in advance of a proposed tour. In the meantime there is plenty here to enjoy for the many fans of Def Leppard who feel that they lost it after ‘Hysteria’, or just for the those who like lots of crunching guitar and a big chorus. After all if you have those things does it matter how ‘heavy’ it really is?
http://www.houseofheavy.com
http://www.myspace.com/houseofheavy
