Music
14 Feb 03

By The Grace Of God

On the downside, they’ve kept the hair and leather, along with a selection of best forgotten Dad rock staples: cringeworthy moments of cheese-o-riff guitaristry and an epic arena Rock Voice.

Having served a stint as tub-thumper with Swedish death metal outfit Entombed, Nicke Royale decided a change was in order, and formed The Hallacopters. It was a small step for mankind.

Since their debut in 1994, the Scandinavian quintet have evolved into a moderately-interesting power rock combo.

On the downside, they’ve kept the hair and leather, along with a selection of best forgotten Dad rock staples: cringeworthy moments of cheese-o-riff guitaristry and an epic arena Rock Voice. Their songs are no great shakes either: frankly lyrics like “I’m in a rut/Keep kicking myself in the nuts/In a stairwell I seek/The lair where I stuck my dirty beak” are just plain inexcusable.

That said, there have their moments. ‘The Exorcist’, sounding curiously like Jimmy Eat World covering Morbid Angel is impressive. The album opener ‘By The Grace Of God’ lollops along to decent effect.

However, even at best, By The Grace Of God is still a pretty dodgy album.