Swedish heavy rockers Second Sun have just released their new album, Elektriska Mardrömmar (Electric Nightmare) through Majestic Mountain Records. Their sound has been described as a glorious blend of classic rock and heavy metal, complete with lyrics sung entirely in Swedish. It’s a bit of a musical cocktail, featuring a splash of Wishbone Ash, a dash of Black Sabbath, a hint of Camel, and a generous pour of Jethro Tull, all shaken (not stirred) with elements of folk music and video game soundtracks. It might just make your neighbours question your taste in music, but grab your air guitar and prepare for some serious rock action!
Comprised of a diverse group of musicians from various musical backgrounds, Second Sun features Stipen Karlsson (ex-Merciless, ex-Dia Psalma, Åfysatan) on drums, Jakob Ljungberg (Tyrann, ex-Tribulation) handling vocals and guitar, Björn Trägårdh (ex-VCPS, ex-Lula) on guitar and vocals, and Marcus Hedman (Corridor People, ex-Moralens Väktare) on bass.
Elektriska Mardrömmar was recorded between 2023 and 2024, with production overseen by Olle Granat and the band themselves. The album has been expertly mixed and mastered by Jamie Elton. The cover artwork, crafted by Susanna Berglund and complemented by layout design from Adam Zaars, adds a visually captivating image that perfectly complements the music.
The band shared their thoughts on the new effort: “The album itself (unlike the previous one which was an album with a cohesive story) is intended to be a sort of collection of short stories. The overarching themes are laziness, reluctance to perform, outsider status (both self-chosen and not), and a constant fatigue with our increasingly idiotic and incomprehensible contemporary society.”
So…I can tell you that there are ten tracks on the album, all good fun, like a heavier version of their compatriots in Scandi-rock, Märvel, but all sung entirely in Swedish, which can be a stumbling block. However, putting that to one side and cranking the volume up, you’re in for an entertaining thrash. The opener Är det så konstigt is definitely from the same mould as Märvel, employing a sort of shout and respond chorus line that the band themselves clearly enjoy. The bridge section and second half displays a fine sense of melody whilst careering along at a suitably frenetic pace. Next up is Där det borde finnas en själ (finns det bara ett hål), and this one does illustrate the band’s favoured vocal style of pseudo-chanting – sounds fun! Some nice guitar work from the two fretmen before the almost operatic chorus comes back in. A subdued bridge section features some interesting percussion before the chant returns.
Voight Kampff-test steers close to the guitar-territory of The Riven, one of my favourite bands of the last couple of years, Sweden does like its melodic heavy retro-rock, and why not! This track features lots of duelling guitars, some tasty chords and the signature twinned “wordy” vocals. No disrespect, its obviously the style that Jakob and Björn espouse. Så Jävla Lätt continues in much the same vein, it does have some sumptuously melodic lead work.
The rest of the album continues in the same fashion, and non-Swedish speakers will perhaps be struggling without a grasp of the various tales being told. The final track Arion Vulgaris is considerably longer than its bedfellows at a shade under nine minutes, giving the opportunity for the band to have an extended workout in a time-honoured and very accomplished manner, quality changes of pace and mood work very well on this, for me the strongest track on the album. As I say, lots of twin guitars always gets me excited and there’s some seriously decent playing on here.
Another older image-video of the band is worth getting your lugs around, it’s a cracker, with more than a hint of early Stranglers thrown in for good measure?!
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