Fronted by Spice on vocals and guitar, Swedish group Band of Spice are set to release their fifth album to follow 2021s heavyweight By The Corner Of Tomorrow. The trio are completed by Alexander Sekulovski on bass and Bob Ruben on drums and, on the latest album called How We Play The Game, the heavy rock via Sabbath influences remain strong but Spice keeps his personality shining through.
Opener, ‘Gone Insane’ lulls with a gentle picked guitar piece before exploding into proper Spice… a sort of Sabbath meets Priest with NWOBHM entrails! Excellent instrumentation from all of the band with Spice’s nod to Dio vocals. ‘Demonized’ has similar attributes and a cowbell. ‘My Game’ has the ‘fooled you’ gentleness on the intro before the rapid fire Maidenish riff hits and hits hard. Then there’s the almost melodic thrash of ‘Control’ and ‘Offside’ (which may well be about the “f*cked up game”); the bass intro and main riff of ‘Descending’ will certainly have you thinking Sabbath but it has a depth and variation in tempo and a heavy prog touch that I find totally irresistible. ‘Little Casino’ is more early Priest with Spice’s empathetic update providing a powerful song.
Other references spring to mind: I keep hearing echoes of the great Sweet Savage and Handsome Beasts as I listen to this album… which is a very good thing because Band Of Spice is very original while evoking all that was good about a great time in rock history.
The album is out 23rd September on CD, vinyl and marbled yellow vinyl via Scarlet Records.
