MATTIAS IA EKLUNDH — Freak Guitar (review)

MATTIAS IA EKLUNDH — Freak Guitar album cover

Album · 1999 · Progressive Metal

4.5/5 · 2014-12-31
siLLy puPPy

MATTIAS IA EKLUNDH is a well known guitarist in the inner circles of guitar nerds but hasn’t really quite caught on elsewhere and that’s a shame because he is so much more than showing off his freakish guitar playing skills. His major influences were Frank Zappa and Ace Frehley of Kiss, so that right there should give an indication of how he loves to mix and meld and since he began music when he was a mere 6 years old, it’s no wonder he has become such the accomplished musician that he has. Being from Sweden, MATTIAS has been involved in many musical acts over the years including his first Frozen Eyes to other Swedish bands such as Evergrey and Soilwork. He started his own progressive rock band Freak Kitchen in 1992. That band has released eight albums at the time of this review, but it is his solo albums under the FREAK GUITAR moniker that really get my musical saliva flowing.

Not counting his “real” first solo album under the name Mr. Libido which contained no guitar at all but merely introduced the world EKLUNDH’s idiosyncrasies of combining the traditional with the un-, that album was ok but not outstanding, FREAK GUITAR, his first guitar oriented solo album is another case. Although upon first listen i was a tad underwhelmed expecting some bizarre futuristic weirdness of epic proportions, i let go of that but have nonetheless grown very fond of this album over the thirteen years since i first became acquainted with it. Although this is a one-man show, EKLUNDH dedicates extreme scrutiny over every single detail involved here, showing how one man can create a near masterpiece in a bathroom of his parent’s house with the most rudimentary of recording equipment. The passion on this one is with a capital P.

The sounds on this one range from the more typical one of the opener “Apparatus” with a hyper-metal attitude with jazz overtones and plenty of eccentric liberties to “Detroit Rock City” which is a Kiss cover only in a Django Rheinhardt gypsy jazz style. The liner notes are meticulous explaining the inspiration behind each track which makes this review easier since there is no guessing involved in the process. Although there are 22 tracks overall, i never get bored with this one. I only ever skip over the intermission piece “Time To Breathe” track which was created to serve as a nice smooth and slow number in order to take a break from the otherwise sometimes frenetic nature of the album. I don’t mind a track like this but it is too long and i really don’t find this album to be over frenetic in the least bit. In fact i would classify it as a perfect compromise between extreme metal and pop sensibilities albeit in totally original and unforeseen ways.

This album is filled with yumminess. Versions of “La Bamba” and “Detroit Rock City” are divine. There are unapologetic metal rockers a la “Lisa’s Passion For Heavy Metal” (Dedicated to a Freak Kitchen track) and “Evil Shower” to weird numbers like “(Friday Afternoon) In A Galaxy Far Away” which is a musical interpretation of a traffic jam (originally titled “A Momentary Extra-Terrestrial Brouhaha On The Corner Of Zfwwapfftz-Street and Pzzfffttt-Street on the relatively Unknown Planet Apple Horn In The Hejsan Svejsan Galaxy.” It was supposed to be the single! There are also Swedish folk-metal songs, jazz inspired rock accompanying a narration about “Dr Pangloss Goes To Lisbon” and folky vocal tracks about riding the workplace exercise wheel in “Squirrel.” The lyrics, the music and the content in general are brilliant.

Although i really love this album as a whole i do have a few faves of the bunch: “Numb,” “The Satanic Moonwalk,” “Cornholed,” “Evil Shower,” “When Sam Played It Again.” An absolutely brilliant album that only gets better with time despite loving it upon first listen. OMG! Not only a musician’s wet dream but this is crossover enough to really appeal to anybody who has a fetish in the progressive realm of harder edged music. I forgot to mention the more known facts. Steve Vai was so impressed with his musical abilities that he signed him to his Favored Nations label. Enough said.