Negative - Karma Killer

Negative were one of the discoveries of Sweden Rock this year when they steamed up the sweat box of the covered Gibson Stage with a performance oozing sexuality and rock ‘n’ roll swagger.  Their first two albums ‘Sweet and Deceitful’ and ‘Anorectic’ were certainly decent slices of pop metal imbued with edgy emotional intensity but with ‘Karma Killer’ they’ve consolidated the attitude and beefed up the execution.

The sound of this album is delicious. The lower frequencies flow out of the speakers like molten chocolate and the high end shimmers like one of singer Jonne Aaron’s silvery scarves. The songs are equally attractive; on the face of it they’ve come up with more well produced emotional pop/metal as provided by their previous releases. However, even from the first listening it’s clear that something more is going on this time. The songs still have great nod-along riffs and choruses which beg to be sung as passionately into a hair brush as at one of their gigs, but the mix is also awash with subtle arrangements and embellishments.

These reveal themselves with further listening and surely the mark of a really good album is that it doesn’t give up all its secrets at once, but that it opens itself up to the listener over time? Keyboards man Mr. Snack has an approach which adds a sense of the epic to the basic compositions, a touch of the grandiose which owes something at least to U2 as illustrated in heart-break anthem ‘Sealed’. The rich variety of guitar textures also adds greatly to the overall feel of the album. From roaring overdrives to crystalline clean tones, Larry, head of that department, dictates the mood with taste and dexterity. Even the punk metal of ‘Motherfucker (Just Like You)’ has a subtle “solo” section where the wailing guitar gently pans over a vamped drum line. The start of ‘Giving Up’ with delay on the clean guitar and bass is pure Pink Floyd. Towards the end of the song the addition to this arrangement of an angelic chorus provides confirmation, if any were needed at this point, that Negative are aiming very high indeed.

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any live activity outside their native Finland for the rest of the year and whilst the rest of Europe will be seeing the release of ‘Karma Killer’ in the next few weeks, nothing is scheduled for the UK. There’s a shocker!