Jesus Chrüsler Supercar - Lücifer (2019)

Here it is finally in my hands, the new Jesus Chrüsler Supercar album that has been anticipated for months. The Swedes are considered to be the most definite version of death 'n' roll these days, a sound that was boldly established by grandmasters Entombed in the mid-'90s and unfortunately wasn't meant to be followed by many since.

Jesus Chrüsler Supercar do very well to hold the death 'n' roll flag up high, that is for the fans of the genre. For the rest, I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, this is a great album and I've been listening to it in repeat mode the past week. And, after the initial excitement, I'm both happy and a bit sad to say that Lücifer is a pure Entombed-worship album; I will explain in a while. Jesus Chrüsler Supercar have been dancing around it since their beginning and there never was any doubt about it, but with their third album they are hitting the spot 100%, as it sounds almost like To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth was the only album they've been listening to ever since it got out. Lücifer sounds like it in regards to the compositions and riffing, even down to the production sound, even to the distortion in the vocals. Everything smells of Boss HM-2 while the songs reminisce of Entombed classics; for instance, "High Times for Low Crimes" bears a "Like This with the Devil" structure, "Boogeyman" is a mix of "Damn Deal Done" and "Uffe's Horrorshow" with a "Lights Out" ending, "Straight to Hell"'s chorus can't help but bring "They" to mind, etc.

To a die-hard fan of the Entombed star line-up (that is, the one of To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth), this is pure orgasm, and this is why I'm so happy, as I said above. But, to more generic listeners, I really don't know how much the appeal will be. Lücifer is objectively a very well done and thought-of record in terms of quality, but with a very specific thing in the minds of its creators; and this is why it probably won't be as widely accepted as the band generally deserves. I, for one, am to keep blasting this thing over and over again, and it will surely be on my top albums list of the year. But for the sake of their future, I really hope that Jesus Chrüsler Supercar got it out of their system this time around, and that they will return in time with something more personal and original.