Customer Reviews

Move

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Metal comes in many flavors - the technical, the fantastical, the extreme, the flamboyant, the experimental, the elaborate, the simplistic yet cranial crushing, and any number of other things. Metal fans, however, tend to be far more stringent and like to catalogue their metal in a slightly more primitive fashion - the true and the false. Consequently, many metalheads will approach blindly and leave in utter disgust at this apparent display of what can only be construed as paradoxical pop-metal. Their loss, I suppose.

Enter Freak Kitchen, brainchild of guitarist Mattias IA Eklundh who, by all standards, should probably have a solid home in a top tier progressive metal band. He seems to have other plans though, as he's too busy stuffing melodies and leads that are rich with metric and harmonic complexity into three minute songs that are safe for mass consumption. I honestly have no idea how they do it - every single song they write is as catchy as anything you might hear on the charts (and will just as easily get stuck in your head for weeks at a time), and yet is filled to the brim with instrumental acrobatics that are subtle enough to not induce any kind of inaccessibility, but are obvious enough to please music snobs around the world. Bassist Christer Ortefors and drummer Bjorn Fryklundh don't necessarily do anything that will make a tech-head look twice, but considering the context in which they are playing, they manage to successfully inject some goofy stuff throughout... including occasional double bass, off-kilter cymbal work, slight rhythmic variations, and plenty of neat bass lines that augment the guitars instead of following them in parallel. The main attraction, of course, is Mattias himself, who makes abundant use of non-standard chord progressions and really comes through with his many leads and solos which somehow manage to fit perfectly with the mood and flow of what's basically the quintessential radio single, yet are also as complex and demanding as anything by the likes of Ron Thal or Ron Jarzombek. He also squeezes some strange noises out of his guitar, for example in "Herion Breakfast" where he sounds like somebody dialing a number on a telephone.

Not only can Mattias play, but he's also a very decent vocalist. Every letter of every word is pronounced clearly enough for you to be able to tell what he's talking about without having to dig through the liner notes - a notable accomplishment considering that he's Swedish and still carries a somewhat obvious accent. Their lyrics consist of humorous, light-hearted social commentary that can sometimes be thought-provoking in a faux-intellectual adolescent sort of way, but generally doesn't take itself seriously at all and serves only to make one giggle.

After listening to bands like Freak Kitchen and fellow partners in crime Bumblefoot, it becomes apparent that many metal acts out there are in more and more of a frenzy to make their music ever more extreme in one direction or another, often forgetting what it's like to simply have fun.

This is a pretty good wakeup call.

Simply put, this music is beyond the restrictive and often inaccessible confines of traditional progressive rock/metal. Every song is as catchy as top 40 music yet is just as complex as bands like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Rush, ect... Don't believe me? You'll just have to hear it; it's impossible not to love every song. I'm a big fan of progressive rock but sometimes I wish those bands would focus more on the actual SONG than their musicianship - well, here we have Freak Kitchen who do exactly that. Don't get me wrong the musicianship is incredible; Mattias IA Eklundh is my favorite guitarist outscoring masters like Petrucci, Lifeson, and even Vai. If I were to give an accurate description of this music allegorically...I'd say Metallica meets Zappa. The lyrics are hilarious and the music never takes itself too seriously, but damn can these guys play. This album, "Move", is the best Freak Kitchen album hands down; it's even better than their latest album "Organic". Start your Freak Kitchen journey here and then pick up their other albums and the Freak Guitar solo albums as well.

If some record company were smart they'd grab the rights to distribute Freak Kitchen in the USA. If these guys were better known they'd be winning Grammy awards all over the place.

Their music is great - not just well played, it also grabs you and gets you moving. The lyrics are brilliant - funny and clever with biting social commentary.

It's hard to put them in a genre - rock bordering on metal? Or maybe pop-metal? Well, whatever it is they rock!

I'd prefer a rating scale with more steps, because I don't want to imply this record is "perfect" (to me, that should be the unattainable ultimate goal, but I'd definitely place MOVE at around mid-90's out of 100). For those that may understand the comparisons, consider the guitarist from Extreme, Nuno Bettencourt (sp?) gets together with the rhythm section from Scatterbrain to play extremely creative pop metal with a progressive, avante garde style, set to lyrics that are poignant, yet at many times concurrently silly. Are you getting the picture? Diverse and exciting, yet not inaccessible to the uninitiated. This album was my first exposure to Freak Kitchen, and I truly wish their catalogue was available domestically in the US, 'cause I'd like to fill out the collection, but it would cost a small fortune.

This has got to be one of the most high-energy in-your-face rock albums of all time. Just about every track on this CD stands out with excellence. The musicianship is incredible. Mattias Eklundh has got to be one of the top 10 guitarists on the planet. His eccentric soloing will never cease to leave you asking "HOW DID HE DO THAT?!" Bjorn is on par with Mike Portnoy as far as drums go.

I these songs go through so many different changes that you really have no idea how they really sound until you've heard the whole thing. But trust me, they are fantastic.

The songs have creative content, and not the same whinning over and over again that you hear on the radio.

Absolute must-hears on this disc are Propaganda Pie, with its interesting mix of metal and funk/polka rythmes, Nobody's Laughing, a rock tune in 5/4 with a great solo, Heroine Breakfast, a tune about battling addiction with a catchy refrain and incredible solo, and Seven Days In June, a very beautiful and touching song.

Hear clips at [website]

Also available (at about half the cost) through [website]

Freak Kitchen is one of the freshest, most original bands out there right now. The songs are very catchy, and the lyrics are incredibly clever. There is a lot of meaning to the words, yet they can be absolutely hillarious. Everytime I listen to "Porno Daddy" I laugh, yet the song has a ton of meaning. Mattias Eklundh is an incredible guitarist! His technique is amazing, but his style is so unique. He also does a great job singing as well. Every song is supreme, but my favorites are "Snap", "Heroin Breakfast", "Porno Daddy", and "Propaganda Pie". If you're looking for music that rocks, and has brilliant lead guitar and singing, Freak Kitchen's "Move" is for you. 20 stars!!!! Check out "Spanking Hour" as well, it rules!

How come the United States has to be so stiff on the music scene?? We continue to belch out this corporate filth we call "music" and present it with glitz and schlock and musicians who should study their instruments instead of letting some digital device fix it in the mix. The Swedes and the rest of Europe have got it down pat. "Move" by Freak Kitchen is some of the freshest music I have heard in a LONG time and even though this was released in 2002, it stands up to ANYTHING that the US puts on its airwaves. Yes, I am a proud American but today's FM radio flat stinks. They continue to spew out candy-coated garbage and we just swallow it whole. We need to step up to the plate and start to recognize the independent talent out there who are doing just that. I enjoy IA's solo efforts and it is refreshing to hear him in a band context. These guys know how to rock and play their instruments. Less hope we Americans can step it up and support our own independent musicians. Two thumbs up for Freak Kitchen!!

It's rare that a band can come along and challenge you from a musical perspective and still be fun and assessable. The lyrics are topical and intelligent and damn funny too! It's great that someone with the obvious technical skills of Mattias IA Eklundh has a sense of humor and doesn't seem to be tripping on his own ego. The weird thing is that my wife likes it and she doesn't like any of the shred/prog/fusion stuff that I listen to. Can't wait until the next one!

I cannot believe that this thing is selling for 30 bucks. They really need to promote this album more in the US. The guitar solos on Snap and Razor Flowers...heck the solos on all the songs are reason enough to get this album. Creativity at its crazy best, I had to see him play to believe that stuff like that was even possible!

Freak Kitchen is a bass, drum, and guitar trio from Sweden that flat out rock! If your looking for an extreme energy, slamming, modern hard rock/metal album filled with hooks that stick and don't leave for days, give this a listen. If you want to hear a tight rhythm section, and guitar solos similar to Satriani or Van Halen intrigue you, check this out. If you like powerful vocalists who enunciate clearly so you can understand the words, look no further. If you want intellectual lyrics, look elsewhere, but if all the other items are on your checklist, this is one of those zero filler records where you immediately push play to hear it again after the final song is over.