bonnek
Feeling they had explored their Death'n'Roll sound as far as they could, Entombed wanted to stretch their legs a bit on 'Same Difference'. But the difference with previous albums isn't too big in fact. At least not as big as the PR machine (back in the day) might have wanted you to believe.
The main difference is that both guitarists forgot to open up the gain of their amps. So Entombed sounds lighter and more rocking here. But the songwriting hasn't changed much in fact Lars Petrov screams as of old and the new drummer Peter Stjärnvind keeps the beat in its usual rolling speed. Imagine this album with more distortion and you're not far off from 'To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak The Difference'. With that whole matter out of the way, I need to point out that, despite these minimal changes, this album just doesn't really work. I don't think the songs are to blame but without their usual heaviness and bite, Petrov's shouting is in vein. The rest of the band is simply miles behind and doesn't add the power and oomph to make it work.
It's a deserving attempt from Entombed to try their style with a new and less metallic sound. But that's simply not why God created Entombed. We want to hear this band roar!, not striving for subtlety. Somehow they got the message and they've stuck to their guns ever since.