Shakin' Brains

Janas Hanssonが1979年に結成しシングルをリリース、さらに後にYNGWIE MALMSTEENに加入することで一躍その名が知れるようになるJensとAndersのJohansson兄弟が加入しオムニバス「SKANSK ROCKS 1」に参加を経てRoadrunnerから1983年にリリースされた1stアルバム。DEEP PURPLE、RAINBOWの流れを汲む伝統的様式美サウンドで、JanasとJensのクラシカルなギターとキーボードが対立構造であったりユニゾンだったりで展開するサウンド・スタイルは正しくこれ以降の様式美スタイルを確立させた名盤。クラシックを基盤としたメロディが早弾きから洪水の様に溢れ出すこの2人のプレイはスリリング! ヴォーカルが下手とか音が悪いとか言う声も多いが、そんなことはこの2人のプレイとメロディ、どうしようもなく伝統的なハード・ロック/メタルを感じさせる楽曲で全て帳消しです。これぞ様式美の名盤中の名盤。

Although few people are probably aware of the fact, Silver Mountain's debut album, 1983's wonderful Shakin' Brains, served as something of a testing ground for the neo-classical metal Yngwie Malmsteen would ride to the top in the years that followed. It's no secret that Malmsteen had been friendly with his Swedish compatriots in Silver Mountain prior to relocating to the U.S. and joining Ron Keel in Steeler, and it's even less of a coincidence that half of the musicians responsible for this underground classic -- keyboard and drum-playing siblings Jens and Anders Johansson -- would go on to work with Malmsteen's new solo project the very next year. Which should serve as further support for the claim that Silver Mountain was in fact the link between the neo-classical metal movement's acknowledged birth at the hands of Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio's Rainbow and its subsequent popularization by Malmsteen, Stratovarius, et al. All of the genre's token qualities are to be found here: the mystical, semi-fantastical lyrics, the incredible interplay between soloing guitar and keyboards, and of course the metal and the classical music elements. Sterling opener "1789" encapsulates all of these elements to their highest degree, welding together a memorable riff that's part driving rhythm and part piercing lead guitar, and then pummeling the listener with it at a galloping clip on its way to an explosive guitar solo. All-purpose frontman Jonas Hansson may not have the greatest command of the English language, the perfect voice (curiously, he sounds like a less potent Jeff Scott Soto), or six-string chops quite as refined and mechanically fast as the aforementioned Malmsteen, but in many ways his fiery and more instinctive style (check out his impromptu solo midway through "Looking for You") is all the more exciting and unpredictable for it. As for his regular foil, brilliant keyboardist Jens Johansson, he too is in top form here, injecting additional highlights such as "Aftermath," "Always," and "Keep on Keepin' On" with all of the jaw-dropping flash and technique that would earn him regular kudos as perhaps the decade's top heavy metal key-meister. It wouldn't be too great a stretch to assert that, together, Hansson and Johansson are to '80s metal what Blackmore and Lord were to the '70s. And in case you're worried that Silver Mountain is a one-trick pony, look no further than the sweetly acoustic piano ballad "King of the Sea" or manic poundings like "Destruction Song" and "Vikings" for the kind of straightforward, house-burning aggression typical of the then still recent New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The similarly energetic "Spring Maiden" features an opening riff borrowed straight from Motorhead's "Shine," and that about covers all you need to know about Shakin' Brains: easily one of the most underrated albums -- and best-kept secrets -- of the '80s. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia