SIX FOOT SIX BEGGAR’S HILL ALBUM REVIEW

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

Six Foot Six is a Swedish Heavy Metal band from Gothenburg. This is their third album and is the best thing they have produced so far. They first came to my attention because they featured workaholic guitarist/producer Christoffer Borg who played in one of my all-time favourite rock bands, Art Nation. They also recruited the legendary Snowy Shaw on drums for this album so immediately I’m all in with this one. The first thing you need to know is that if you are looking for Heavy Metal in the style of eighties Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with production values of the very highest quality you have come to the right place. The band describe themselves as “a metal band that likes to do it old school and the way we like it!” and that’s exactly what you get here. Twelve no-nonsense tracks, performed with exemplary musicianship that are immediate, melodic and above all both exciting and traditional.

We start off with ‘Raise The Dead’ and it’s clear that Iron Maiden is the biggest influence on Six Foot Six. Air raid siren vocals that are absolutely perfect for this material combine with jitterbugging fretwork of the highest quality and a storytelling style that rattles along like a freight train. ‘Tears’ is up next and it’s catchy, and immediate and has a huge chant-along chorus that combines perfectly with the Judas Priest-style drum beat. ‘Voices Inside’ has the effortless combination of melody and heaviness that the Scandinavians seem to be able to produce in their sleep while the title track ‘Beggar’s Hill’ is another burst of chugging heavy metal goodness that will have them head banging in the aisles at the live shows.

‘Analog Man’ is another track that has more than a hint of old-school Iron Maiden about it and that shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing as it’s clearly what the band were aiming for. ‘Riding The Tide’ is epic Metal that builds and builds to a fiery climax while ‘Fire Will Burn’ is probably the fastest and heaviest track on the album and is an absolute banger. The next three tracks are a trilogy of songs that tell ‘A Templars Tale’ and are ambitious in scope and contain styles varying from traditional Metal to both Prog and Power Metal. A great piece of work that I will be returning to time and again.

I’m not sure what’s going on with ‘Pete McOats’ as it’s a completely random tale about a man who lives with “a cat and his four goats, and the first goat’s name was Red and all it ate was buttered bread.” It’s totally bonkers and had me laughing out loud it’s that bizarre.

‘Equinox’ closes out the record in a suitably heavy instrumental manner and is a perfect ending to an album that I ultimately enjoyed a lot and will most likely be giving some heavy rotation in the next few weeks.

BAND

Kristoffer Göbel – Vocals/Guitars

Christoffer Borg – Guitars

Markus Gustafsson – Bass

Snowy Shaw – Drums

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1. Raise The Dead
2. Tears
3. Voices Inside
4. Beggar’s Hill
5. Analog Man
6. Riding The Tide
7. Fire Will Burn
8. The Prodigy (A Templar’s Tale pt. 1)
9. The Siege (A Templar’s Tale pt. 2)
10. The Homecoming (A Templar’s Tale pt. 3)
11. Pete McOats
12. Equinox