Black Debbath: Den femte statsmakt
MIC's Listen to Norway series continues with Black Debbath's 'Den femte statsmakt'
As their name indicates this band make no secret of which level of seriousness they belong to, nor from whom they borrow their musical expression. But these factors considered, the level of musicianship and the quality of the production is remarkable. Their latest release, Den Femte Statsmakt (The Fifth Estate), demonstrates a band with a keen sense of riff making and the ability to make songs that, at times at least, sound more like Black Sabbath than BS themselves. In addition to the musicianship there is also another point to be made about this band and their performance: the package they deliver and the message that comes with it is so comprehensive and thought through that one wonders if not perhaps all the humour and irony is veiling subtle sociological commentary. Whether this is so or not is difficult to determine, so lets focus on what is unquestionable: Black Debbath are in a class of their own when it comes to welding Sabbatesque riffs with lyrics of mock social commentary, lyrics which by the way are hilariously funny when thus presented. So the formula works, which has also been acknowledged by critics in Norway.
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