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> Login to your account > RegisterSpiritual Beggars
From page 96 of Classic Rock Magazine December 2002
Cover of December 2002 issue.
on Fire'
(music for Nations)
More lovable lunacy from the deep south — of Sweden. Spiritual Beggars, who have endured a fluctuating band membership since their 2000 debut album 'Ad Astra', remain a curiously reactionary outfit. Though claiming (via the accompanying biog and their website) to defy musical boundaries, they actually remain disturbingly respectful of barriers that were nailed into place some 25 years ago mostly by Black Sabbath.
As traditionalists, purveyors of 'classic rock', perhaps, they tend to sit quite happily evoking vivid memories of, to be precise, Sabbath's 'Master of Reality'. It would be all too easy to point out other overt influences — one can hear vivid Deep Purple in these grooves, for example — but there is rather more to the Spiritual Beggars musical core than just adept plundering.
Their pristine new vocalist jB may hold the key. His Gillan-like approach adds character to the blend, which, three or four songs in, does tend to slacken to a plod. When Spiritual Beggars lighten to a rootsy feel, allowing 1/3 to go for bluesy tones rather than for sheer verbal attack, the entire affair starts to make some sense.
*****
Mick Middles
