ENEMIES SWE

I'm usually up for a sleazy hard rock album with a pinch of punk and a sliver of glam. Well guess what? "Behind Enemy Lines" by Sweden's ENEMIES SWE is a sleazy hard rock album with a pinch of punk and a sliver of glam. Originally released by Sweden's Plugged Records last year, the album will now be available to the international masses via Spain's Locomotive Music.

Most of what's on offer here is better than average rock and roll, with the almighty riff as the centerpiece of each song. Raucous up-tempo rockers like "Powertrain", "Enemy", and "Superstar" are just strong enough to get your foot tapping; hell, you might even sing along. The band is quite good at the tougher, snarling fare of songs like "Back with the Bullets", featuring a riff that comes close to mimicking the one on MOTÖRHEAD's "Deaf Forever" and a nasty BUCKCHERRY disposition. You can throw "Hello Hell" in that category as well. Helping the album to last longer than its playing length is that "little something" in several of the songs that sticks in your head. A little harmonica on "Mainstream King" goes a long way, the guitar solo in "Sliced and Diced" wails like a mutha, and the shufflin' beat of "Elvis in Brooklyn" adds tempo variety (though the song itself is mediocre). I'd give props to the mid-tempo crawler that is "Nasty Idol" too, with its rumbling back alley bass line and slow riffs, but for the lame chorus. The glam thing surfaces on "Glam Star Cabaret" (no, not because "glam" is in the title),while the slurred vocals of "Rock N Roll School" have punk rock written all over 'em.

"Behind Enemy Lines" is not perfect. The songwriting in spots comes off a tad awkward, and some of the lyrics are a little goofy, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. If it's loud guitars, big choruses, and even bigger attitude that you seek, you should do just fine with "Behind Enemy Lines".