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Freak Kitchen: Land of Freaks (Reissue)
Freak Kitchen: Land of Freaks (Reissue)
Progressive Rock/Metal
4.5/5.0
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Laser's Edge
by Craig Hartranft, 05.07.2012
North America, if you haven't heard of Sweden's Freak Kitchen, I have some good news. Laser's Edge label has acquired the rights to distribute their catalog in the States, beginning with 2010's Land of Freaks. This band is good. Call them a power trio if you will. But there's more depth to that.
Freak Kitchen: no pots and pans to be found.
The larger category is progressive rock or metal. But FK offers subtle tones of rock, metal, jazz, and even ethnic rhythms from Latin to Indian (there are two performers here). Some have compared Mattias 'IA' Eklundh's guitar work, and many songs in general, as Zappa-esque. I can hear that across this album. Freak Kitchen also mixes a rather liberal social and political conscience in their music as well.
Here's the thing: this album is aggressively diverse, musically speaking. Frankly, I think Freak Kitchen was not only attempting original creativity, but also wanting to have a shitload of fun. This comes through on the clever pieces Sick Death By Hypochondria, Do No Disturb, Hip Hop Hoorah, and Honey You're a Nazi. That last tune is nearly worth the album or, at the very least, your exploration.
Freak Kitchen's Land of Freaks is not your ordinary prog metal, or rock. It's better. There's immense talent here, and not just because Mattias Eklundh is a guitar whiz. There's strong song composition as well. Laser's Edge is offering the entire Freak Kitchen catalog: that's sensory overload. Buy this album and enjoy. Recommended.
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In Short
Mostly heavy, and not quite the catchy sleaze metal of their previous album, 21st Century Freaks still finds Fatal Smile in good form.
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