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Video Interview: Tommi Holappa of Greenleaf on Making Echoes From a Mass and More

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Features on April 27th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

greenleaf (Photo by Peder Bergstrand)

Swedish heavy rockers Greenleaf released their eighth full-length, Echoes From a Mass (review here), on March 26 through Napalm Records. At 20 years removed from their debut album, 2001’s Revolution Rock (discussed here), it is only their second full-length in their career to be made with an entirely consistent lineup. With founding guitarist Tommi Holappa as ever at the core, Echoes From a Mass brings him together again with vocalist Arvid Hällagård and drummer Sebastian Olsson, who  both arrived with 2014’s Trails and Passes (review here), and bassist Hans Frölich, who made his first appearance on 2018’s Hear the Rivers (review here). What started and was for more than its first decade a classic, heavy ’70s-style side-project for Holappa from his main outfit at the time, Dozer, has now been a working, touring band for seven years, consistent now in a way they’ve never been before.

Tommi Holappa, in addition to being one of his generation’s foremost heavy rock songwriters, has a smile that is infectious. We’ve spoken any number of times over the years between Dozer and Greenleaf, and it was a pleasure to do so again. He’s a nice guy, and when he talks about writing music for Greenleaf as an increasingly complex process of chasing what feels right, it’s easy to believe it. There has always been an organic sensibility to his craft. Not that the songs aren’t worked on — he talks about hammering out the tracks on Echoes From a Mass in jams with Olsson from which Frölich was excluded due to pandemic restrictions; former bassist/producer Bengt Bäcke stepped in for some — but that even for being thought through, they hold onto the inspired spark out of which they flourished.

I was particularly interested to talk about Greenleaf as a full, stable-lineup band with Holappa not only for the novelty, but for his being able to put material together with these players in mind, the trust that must inherently emerge from working together over a longer stretch of time. I don’t think Greenleaf‘s lineup — fluid as it’s been — has ever included outright strangers as opposed to friends and peers in other bands, up to and including Dozer, LowriderTruckfighters and others, but that’s different than being in the same band with someone for years, and you can hear that difference in the space Holappa gives Hällagård‘s vocal melodies on the opener “Tides” and other songs from the record. That trust is there. And also some jazz, apparently.

It was Friday afternoon after a long week, but great to chat just the same. I hope you enjoy and thanks for watching.

Greenleaf, Echoes From a Mass Interview with Tommi Holappa, April 23, 2021

Greenleaf‘s Echoes From a Mass is out now on Napalm Records. More info available at the links below.

Greenleaf, “Tides” official video

Greenleaf on Thee Facebooks

Greenleaf on Instagram

Greenleaf at Napalm Records

Napalm Records website

Napalm Records on Thee Facebooks

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Album Review: Greenleaf, Echoes From a Mass

Posted in Reviews on March 25th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

greenleaf echoes from a mass

Behold Greenleaf in their element. The Swedish heavy rockers date back to the turn of the century with their someday-I-will-own-that-vinyl self-titled EP, and Echoes From a Mass is their eighth album and third for Napalm Records. It arrives some 20 years on from their 2001 debut, Revolution Rock (discussed here), and finds them a more stable band than perhaps founding guitarist Tommi Holappa, also of Dozer, ever expected them to be.

Crucially, this is the fourth offering since Arvid Hällagård came aboard as vocalist, and like each of its predecessors, it finds the Holappa/Hällagård dynamic growing in exciting ways that are only bolstered by the rhythm section of bassist Hans Frölich and drummer Sebastian OlssonHolappa has always been a songwriter as the catalogs of Greenleaf and Dozer both demonstrate, but with Echoes From a Mass even more than 2018’s Hear the Rivers (review here), the guitar parts sound as though they were constructed with the vocal accompaniment in mind.

From opener “Tides” onward through the 10-track/46-minute release, Greenleaf and longtime-associate/producer Karl Daniel Lidén create a world with these songs that is at once contemplative as the boldly-chosen leadoff is, and also decidedly blues-based, as cuts like “Good God I Better Run Away,” “Bury Me My Son” and “Hang On” demonstrate. Hear the Rivers and 2016’s Rise Above the Meadow (review here) before it seemed to reach for the same kind of spaciousness in sound — Hällagård‘s first record with the band, 2014’s Trails and Passes (review here), was somewhat more earthbound in its production — and Echoes From a Mass pushes further in inhabiting that space, with melodies floating in vocals echoes above even what in other contexts might be a driving straightforward riff on “Love Undone” or a hook conjured by lead guitar in early cut “Needle in My Eye.”

As one would expect, it’s not all atmospherics and moody sounds, with Olsson leading the way into “Good God I Better Run Away” and the title-line there making for one of the album’s most memorable impressions — there’s stiff competition — or (presumed) side B opener “A Hand of Might” with its classic and signature Holappa boogie, each riff cycle seeming to try to push the one before it out of its way en route to the listener. The tradeoffs throughout between loud and quiet, faster and subdued, etc., bring to light the chemistry in the band at this point.

This is Frölich‘s second long-player with GreenleafOlsson‘s fourth, and, as noted, Hällagård‘s fourth. For a band who throughout the last 20 years has seen players come and go, come and go and come and go, the solidified lineup feels like a novelty, but it’s one that allows for a new kind of development in the band’s sound and purpose. It’s not just about Holappa paying homage to classic ’70s rock anymore — in fact it hasn’t been for some time — but about what this whole group brings to the material.

To wit, the near-proggy rhythmic tension coinciding with the chug of “Needle in My Eye” and the thickened stomp in the penultimate “On Wings of Gold,” which suitably enough seems to take flight ahead of closer “What Have We Become,” that quieter, purposefully understated finish a key-laced showpiece for Hällagård and an occasion to which he every bit rises.

greenleaf (Photo by Peder Bergstrand)

The same could be said of everyone throughout, and though one doesn’t necessarily go to ‘album number eight’ as a landmark happening in the tenure of a given group, Greenleaf engage a somewhat fraught emotional perspective — see titles like “Good God I Better Run Away,” “Needle in My Eye,” “Love Undone” and “Bury Me My Son” — early on and answer with a bit of hope in “Hang On” and “On Wings of Gold” before finally looking back to ask “What Have We Become” at the end. The answer to that question is, at least as far as the album is concerned, that Greenleaf have become a full band with an increasingly complex perspective and a greater depth of sound than they’ve ever had before.

Considering the places Greenleaf have gone stylistically in their time — still under an umbrella of heavy rock, but ever more characteristically so — that’s not saying nothing, but to hear even the downer sway in “Bury Me My Son” as it moves into the bell-of-the-ride hits that start the creeping-into-surge intro of “A Hand of Might,” the subtle turn of defeat to persistence isn’t lost, and the rush of that track helps the band build momentum as they move through Echoes From a Mass‘ second half, with “March on Higher Grounds” arriving not with fanfare but as a melodic highlight nonetheless. Its riff careens deceptively forward and and where one might expect Hällagård to belt it out in the hook à la “Bury Me My Son,” the decision otherwise speaks to how able Greenleaf are at this point to see the bigger picture of what the album needs at any given point.

The flow continues through “Hang On” and “On Wings of Gold” as one would hope, with the latter the longest track at 6:28 and the crescendo for the LP as a whole, bringing together the blues and the heft and the space and putting everything in its proper place without losing the emotional force behind it — that force only getting further prevalence on “What Have We Become,” which seems to call back to “Tides” even as it refuses the temptation to hit into the same kind of largesse. Or maybe that’s just me going back to the start and playing the record again.

Either way, as a fan of GreenleafEchoes From a Mass excites not only in the continued quality of its songwriting — Holappa is name-brand as far as that goes — but in the increasing cohesion of its performance and how the production seems to highlight the band simply melting together as a single unit. It is immersive and progressive in a way Greenleaf have not always sought to be, and that too stands as testament to just how special they are, to be trying and achieving new things and building on their past in this manner some 21 years on. One of 2021’s best in heavy rock, no question.

Greenleaf, “Love Undone” lyric video

Greenleaf, “Tides” official video

Greenleaf on Thee Facebooks

Greenleaf on Instagram

Greenleaf at Napalm Records

Napalm Records website

Napalm Records on Thee Facebooks

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Arvid Hällagård of Greenleaf & Pools

Posted in Questionnaire on March 3rd, 2021 by JJ Koczan

arvid hallagard greenleaf

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Arvid Hällagård

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Well I sing and I write melodies and lyrics. And I think I have been doing it since I was around 10 years old. I started by impersonating singers that I liked. Vocalists like Jim Morrison, Otis Redding, Joe Cooker and many more. Songs just got stuck in my head and I walked around humming for hours without an end. Trying to figure out how and why they sounded so cool. I didn’t even know English back then I just faked the sounds sort of. My dad had a really cool record collection and that’s how I found all that good stuff. Just going through all of his vinyls and CDs.

Describe your first musical memory.

Well there is this Swedish jazz song called “Visa Från Utanmyra.” It’s a hybrid between old Swedish folk music and jazz. I recall my mom singing it when I was a kid. It’s a really beautiful melody. And think that’s my first memory of music.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Oh wow! Hard question, I think maybe it was one of the earlier tours just when Trails & Passes came out. We had been doing alright with around a 100 people per show and then we played Berlin for the second time and 500 suddenly showed up. They knew my lyrics from the first riff and on. That was amazing. Just hearing the crowd call out: “Open up your eyes, don’t trust their lies.” I still smile when I think of that moment.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

All the time, when you’re touring a lot. And at the end you always think: OK this is it. But then you’re home again for a couple of weeks haha. The rush is just too good. I can’t live without it I think.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Hard to say. With Greenleaf it’s sort of like a solid old steam train. It rolls on as long as you put enough coal in it. And it always takes a new path, but slowly. My way of progressing is by listening to new stuff all the time that necessarily does not come from the genre we are playing. I try to find stuff outside the box that inspires me. And in the end that stuff that got down on tape rarely sounds the way you imagined it in your head. But hopefully good enough haha.

How do you define success?

I guess for me a really successful person for me isn’t necessarily someone that’s rich or famous. More a person that is truly happy with what they’re doing and how they live. I dream of having a small house in the countryside, a small but functional studio, tour now and then when you feel the urge. And for the rest of the time just spending time with the family and being creative. That’s maybe my definition of success. Really I’m just happy people dig the stuff we are doing. It’s a rare thing and I feel very humble about it.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Nothing really if you mean concert wise. It’s always an experience. Even if it sounds like dogshit.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

At some point I’d really like to record an old sounding soul record. With horns and everything. Preferably in the US somewhere. On holy land haha. Just for my own personal pleasure. It doesn’t even have to be released, it’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do. Moan my way through the songs, singing my heart out.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Well I think you have to at some degree be happy with what you created. If you are it’s all good. At the end you do it for yourself. Other people enjoying it should be seen as a bonus.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

The summer here in Sweden, it’s been dark and cold for a long time now. Especially with this isolation. I want to be able to jump in the lake and bike through a summer breeze.

www.facebook.com/greenleafrocks
https://www.instagram.com/greenleafband/
www.napalmrecords.com
www.facebook.com/napalmrecords
http://www.soundofliberation.com/greenleaf
https://www.facebook.com/poolstheband/
https://www.instagram.com/poolstheband/
https://orcd.co/pools-trouble
https://somethingbeautifulrec.bandcamp.com/

Greenleaf, “Love Undone” official lyric video

Pools, “Looking for Trouble” official video

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Greenleaf Post “Love Undone” Lyric Video; Echoes From a Mass Preorder Available

Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan

greenleaf (Photo by Peder Bergstrand)

We’re into March now, and soon enough we’ll be drawing to a close the first quarter of 2021. Greenleaf‘s Echoes From a Mass is my first serious contender for album of the year. Will it be? Hell if I know. We still have about 10 months of the year left at this point, but my list already has 18 records on it and I can’t think of one that beats it at this point. If you have, I’d love to know what.

So I’m sure whatever you’re listening to right now — because all we do all day is listen to music, right? what else is there? — is really cool, but you might want to hit pause and check out the lyric video below for “Love Undone” from Echoes From a Mass. It’s not necessarily a complete picture of everything the veteran Swedish four-piece are doing throughout their eighth long-player, but it does give a relevant example of some of the melancholy underpinning their bluesy rock even when uptempo and catchy as ever, and it’s three and a half of the least regrettable minutes one might spend on a given day.

Plus, as Napalm Records lyric videos will, it plays off the artwork, which in this case works particularly well since the lettering is so much of the character of the cover. Plus I’m a sucker for art-deco in general, so it hits on that aesthetic level as well.

PR wire info follows, including the preorder link, as usual. You know the drill.

Enjoy:

Greenleaf, “Love Undone” official lyric video

Pre-Order the new full-length Echoes From A Mass NOW!
https://smarturl.it/EchoesFromAMass-NPR

Swedish heavy stoner rock favorites GREENLEAF are about to draw their listeners deeper into their maelstrom of buzzing guitars and hallucinogenic vocals: The four-piece have just released their second single, “Love Undone”, along with an artful lyric video cut from their upcoming album, Echoes From A Mass, out March 26 via Napalm Records. Their new track delivers an uncompromisingly heavy soundtrack to a tragic past love story, drenched in the hypnotizing GREENLEAF trademark sound and shrouded in a sludgy, heavy journey of extended riffage.

Once again, GREENLEAF prove that they dare to think outside the box and deliver a heavy roller comprised of Sebastian Olsson’s rumbling drumming performance, fuzzy guitars, Fröhlich’s haunting bass lines, Arvid Hällagård’s powerful yet ghoulish vocals and undeniable, heavy stoner, southern desert and blues vibes. Echoes From A Mass was recorded at Studio Gröndahl in October 2020 by former band member Karl Daniel Lidén, who also mixed and mastered the record at Tri-Lamb Studios. Lidén is recognized for his work with well-known acts such as Katatonia, Bloodbath, Lowrider and Crippled Black Phoenix, to name a few.

GREENLEAF are:
Arvid Hällagård – vocals
Tommi Holappa – guitar
Hans Fröhlich – bass
Sebastian Olsson- drums

Greenleaf on Thee Facebooks

Greenleaf on Instagram

Greenleaf at Napalm Records

Napalm Records website

Napalm Records on Thee Facebooks

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Greenleaf Announce New LP Echoes From a Mass out March 26

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 27th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

greenleaf (Photo by Peder Bergstrand)

Swedish heavy rockers Greenleaf will release their eighth full-length, Echoes From a Mass, on March 26 through Napalm Records. To coincide with this righteous news, the four-piece have a new video to unveil for opening track “Tides” from the 10-song outing, and, well, it’s just a joy to behold. It’s been since last March that the band said they were writing with an eye toward early 2021 — so hey, nice that somebody’s plans for 2020 came together, if likely not in the way they imagined. If we’re being honest with each other — and I hope we are — this is probably one of the three records I’m most looking forward to in 2021. The other is Yawning Sons and I’m leaving an open space for later. So yeah, it’s gonna be good.

The esteemed Karl Daniel Lidén produced, and the art deco-style cover is by Lowrider’s Peder Bergstrand (who also took the photo above and made the video below), so Greenleaf are keeping noble company as ever. I’ve already started putting together interview questions to bug guitarist Tommi Holappa with when the time comes. Can’t wait.

Preorders are up, video’s at the bottom here. Dig:

greenleaf echoes from a mass

GREENLEAF Announce New Album Echoes From A Mass Out March 26, 2021 via Napalm Records

Pre-Order HERE: https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/greenleaf

Listen/Watch the New Single + Music Video “Tides”!

2021 is destined for heaviness: Sweden’s finest stoner rock four-piece GREENLEAF have just announced their upcoming full-length, Echoes From A Mass, out March 26 via Napalm Records! The successor to their 2018 epic, Hear The Rivers, is poised to disperse their renowned sludgy energy to all disciples of the genre.

Once again, GREENLEAF have combined all of the finest stoner metal ingredients for their forthcoming offering – impacting with a prog and psychedelic-laced punch that accents the Swedes’ already motile sonic firmament. Heavy desert riffs, sprawling drums, captivating melodies and grooving rhythms make their new record an absolute must-listen.

Their first single, “Tides”, and its intense official music video, immediately draw the listener into a swirl of guitar driven soundscapes, while Arvid Hällagård’s remarkable voice merges with hypnotizing background vocals, ceremonially inviting the listener into a heavy reverie.

GREENLEAF on the new album:
“2020 was a shitty year for sure but there was at least a little bit of light in the darkness, Echoes From A Mass was written and recorded! This is an album that we are extremely proud of and we hope you will like it as much as we do.”

Once again, GREENLEAF prove that they dare to think outside the box and deliver a heavy roller comprised of Sebastian Olsson’s rumbling drumming performance, fuzzy guitars, Fröhlich’s haunting bass lines, Arvid Hällagård’s powerful yet ghoulish vocals and undeniable heavy stoner, southern desert and blues vibes. Echoes From A Mass was recorded at Studio Gröndahl in October 2020 by former band member Karl Daniel Lidén, who also mixed and mastered the record at Tri-Lamb Studios. Lidén is recognized for his work with well-known acts such as Katatonia, Bloodbath, Lowrider and Crippled Black Phoenix, to name a few.

Echoes From A Mass Tracklisting:
01. Tides
02. Good God I Better Run Away
03. Needle in My Eye
04. Love Undone
05. Bury Me My Son
06. A Hand of Might
07. March on Higher Grounds
08. Hang On
09. On Wings of Gold
10. What Have We Become

Echoes From A Mass will be available in the following formats:
– 1 CD Digipak
– 1 LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
– 1 LP Gatefold Vinyl Cream/Black
– 1 CD Digipak + Patch Bundle
– 1 CD Digipak + Shirt Bundle

Line-up:
Arvid Hällagård: Vocals
Tommi Holappa: Guitar
Hans Fröhlich: Bass
Sebastian Olsson: Drums

www.facebook.com/greenleafrocks
https://www.instagram.com/greenleafband/
www.napalmrecords.com
www.facebook.com/napalmrecords
http://www.soundofliberation.com/greenleaf

Greenleaf, “Tides” official video

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