By Monk
We’re fairly used to dealing with freaks and clowns here at ÜRHQ. In fact, it’s something of an occupational hazard, and we’ve had to deal with our fair share of them over the years. However, one set which we encountered around this time last year was this band of the same name, to whom we took an immediate liking, thanks to their highly impressive debut album.
By way of an aide memoire (as we know some of our readers are getting on a wee bit and memories ain’t what they used to be), Freaks And Clowns trace their roots back to 2017, when Astral Doors drummer Johan Lindstedt and an old friend, singer Chrille Wahlgren, found themselves messing about in a studio in their home town of Borlänge (in central Sweden) and swapping song ideas. Before they knew it they had the bones of 16 songs pulled together, so Lindstedt put in a call to bandmates Mats Gesar and Ulf Lagerström to rediscover their love of classic heavy metal. With five of those songs failing to make the cut for that debut, the band already had enough material to give them a kickstart for the follow-up, which is what we are presented with now, some 12 months further down the line…
As you would most likely expect, ‘Justice Elite’ picks up almost more or less exactly where its self-titled predecessor left off, combining classic metal, Euro-style power metal and thrash to great effect, as the title track pummels its way out of the starting blocks with furious intent, driven by Lindstedt’s absolutely powerhouse percussion, developed by the twin, interlocking guitars of Gesar and Mathias Henrysson and topped off by Wahlgren’s snapping, snarling Dirkschneider-meets-Meine vocal.
If anything, ‘Justice…’ is heavier than that opening salvo from last year. It’s certainly a fair bit louder, especially in the mix department, and on the rhythm section in particular – which is a good thing in my book. That’s not to say that melody or nuances have been sacrificed for power for the sake of power, as there are still plenty of earworm moments, and subtle little touches, such as the Avatar-style gothic interjections on the likes of ‘Man With The Power’. There are also plenty of references to the sense of continuity from the first album, as the likes of ‘Welcome To The Freakshow’ would sit extremely comfortably (and perhaps more so) alongside the debut’s title track.
However, overall, ‘Justice Elite’ treads a path much closer to that of the Eurometal mien evinced by the likes of Accept and Running Wild than the power metal route, with the emphasis very much on getting heads banging rather than cramming in as many notes as possible. Having said that, there are some suitably epic touches, such as the swelling bombast of ‘The End Song’ which definitely will get ‘phone screens raised high if and when the band ever get to play it live.
Justice Elite’ is another solid slice of retro-fuelled but relevant heavy metal from a group of musicians comfortable in their ability to achieve what they set out to do, and that is produce an album which captures their love of the genre at its best. And that is exactly what they have done. And, as I said in my previous review, you can’t say fairer than that, can you?
- ‘Justice Elite’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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