1.Sad To Say I'm Sorry
2.Bite Off
3.Bound To Ravage
4.From Now On
5.Autopilot
6.Somebody Elses Lord
7.Hardhitter
8.Things You'll Never Ever Wanna Do
9.Crooked Crutch
10.Goodbye Miss Jill
11.Gotta Be Gone (It's Alright)
12.Passing Through My Heart
This up-and coming Swedish rock band are not unlike Rod Stewart And The Faces. Bound To Ravage is a compilation of the bands first five EPs and just like the aforementioned classic seventies rock band, the album has an infectious sound with its sharp riffs and throaty vocals. Diamond Dogs sounds like the kind of band you could enjoy a pint with.
In fact, could lead singer Sulo Karlsson be a secret love child of Stewarts from a long forgotten fling with a Swedish blonde? Only joking - they just sound so familiar and distinctive.
The band have enjoyed success supporting Hanoi Rocks and Dogs D'Amour but now it really is time for them to be known over here as a group who have recorded some excellent music that harks back to the vintage age of 70s rock.
Diamond Dogs began sometime in the late-nineties and enjoyed success with their first EP Among The Non-Believers and then with Shortplayer. They made their debut record in 2000 with As Your Greens Turn Burn and then 2002s Too Much Is Always Better Than Enough was also greeted with joyous approval.
They have been labelled as a punk band but there is very little - if any - on show here but they do have that early garage rock sound, songs like Bite Off being stripped of all its paintwork and simply riffing like mad.
They have an extended line-up with seven full-time members, including a pianist/keyboard player and even a harp player.
For 12 tracks, Bound To Ravage has a consistently sharp sound with many catchy hooks. The likes of From Now On and Autopilot are deliciously overblown but extremely satisfying and alluring.
The raspy vocals work brilliantly with this kind of hard by funky and vintage kind of rock and roll. Hardhitter is appropriately heavy and shows that they have such great potential to be a great live act. The material on offer here is surprisingly strong and incumbent.
Perhaps what is wrong with the album is that many of the tracks are too similar and, although consistent, it can be difficult to tell where one song ends and the next one begins. But they try to be a little different with the harp player and a larger, more open sound.
Bound To Ravage emphatically showcases a sound and image that could make them big in the UK, and with the success of Swedish bands (from Abba to The Cardigans) over here, that may not be as hard as it seems.
Fans of classic rock should seek out Diamond Dogs; you may be genuinely surprised at how good they are.
share: 
out this week:
