{"id":47827,"date":"2016-05-05T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T20:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=47827"},"modified":"2016-05-05T14:26:45","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T19:26:45","slug":"review-spiritual-beggars-sunrise-to-sundown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-spiritual-beggars-sunrise-to-sundown\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: <b>Spiritual Beggars<\/b> \u2014 <i>Sunrise to Sundown<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a better road ahead, so c\u2019mon!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Just three years ago,<strong>\u00a0Spiritual Beggars<\/strong>\u00a0was a hibernating beast\u00a0waiting for its\u00a0time to come. Dripping poisonous fumes from its\u00a0multi-colored mouth, the band re-awakened and conjured new psychedelic and melodic sounds with\u00a0<em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em>, released this year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars.jpg?ssl=1\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-47831\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-47831\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars-1024x534.jpg?resize=960%2C501&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars\" width=\"960\" height=\"501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars.jpg?resize=1024%2C534&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars.jpg?resize=300%2C157&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars.jpg?resize=768%2C401&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BandPhotoSpiritualBeggars.jpg?w=2400&amp;ssl=1 2400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Today the band, commanded by the prolific <a href=\"https:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/the-unknown-guest-michael-amott\/\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Amott<\/a>, creates fine slices\u00a0of carefully crafted songs with\u00a0traditional\u00a0analog production and uncompromising retro attitude.\u00a0But they are retro in attitude only, because <em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em> is a completely contemporary album\u00a0with original additions\u00a0to the band\u2019s catalogue. In their latest product, the warm artwork of Costin Chioureanu provides\u00a0a high fidelity comparison to the overall feelings of the music: sometimes touching the borders of hard rocking adrenaline with spaced song structures or dealing with touching subjects in slow segments of vulnerable textures.<\/p>\n<p>In comparison to the previous Beggars records, Per Wilberg&#8217;s (<strong>Kamchatka<\/strong>, ex-<strong>Opeth<\/strong>) organs and keyboard magic are\u00a0high in the mix, enveloping the other instruments like an ever-expansive forest. The traditional Hammond organ covers the spaces of the one-dimensional strings section, serving as a counterpart for the riffing or even accompanying the rhythm at the same time,\u00a0similar to\u00a0Jon Lord or Ray Manzarek&#8217;s legendary work. Wilberg\u2019s role in <em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em> is probably a high point in his career, showing the versatility of a musician trusting his instruments in an often formulaic genre and pushing himself to move the solid foundation of the band.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_63520\"  width=\"320\" height=\"240\"  data-origwidth=\"320\" data-origheight=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EXMz_vIKrhU?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSunrise to Sundown,\u201d \u201cDiamond Under Pressure,\u201d \u201cHard Road,\u201d \u201cStill Hunter,\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019ve Been Fooled\u201d may be the safest singles the band has released, but you still cannot\u00a0deny the hard-rocking swagger they have beneath the verses and the uplifting choruses. I can assure to you that Apollo Papathanasio&#8217;s (ex-<strong>Firewind<\/strong>, ex-<strong>Evil Masquerade<\/strong>) vocals are in their prime;\u00a0the guy can croon, soft spoken between the words, or scream out his lungs without losing key or momentum.\u00a0Apollo can go\u00a0from a David Coverdale blues-y beat to a powerful operatic Dio powerhouse scream; his style suits the music in a positive manner, and he uses his voice with passion to enhance the songs and each concept behind them.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from the spectacular vocal department display, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/the-unknown-guest-michael-amott\/\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Amott&#8217;s (<strong>Arch Enemy<\/strong>, ex-<strong>Carcass<\/strong>, ex-<strong>Carnage<\/strong><\/a>) infectious riffs are still the blood that drives the Beggars beast&#8217;s rampant periods of activity, and the spot-on vibrant soloing is still the roaring menace they employ to express their traditional sound in the bustling crowds. \u201cWhat Doesn\u2019t Kill You\u201d and \u201cDark Light Child\u201d are outlier\u00a0tracks in which the band goes pedal-to-the-metal with Papathanasio&#8217;s vocals in tandem with Amott&#8217;s\u00a0exquisite riffs and solos, provided by his majestic, colorful middle range usage of pedals. Steffan Karlsson&#8217;s production leaves space for the band to have fun with, and Michael and his boys clearly took advantage of the crystal clear mixing to play with the dynamics.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_39977\"  width=\"320\" height=\"240\"  data-origwidth=\"320\" data-origheight=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hL6kYte8j84?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Casting aside the immediate punches in <em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em>, the slower songs are the ones that take more time to get used to but are probably more rewarding. The band remembers the sentiments of the first <strong>Black Sabbath<\/strong> era and their own first records, directed towards more psychedelic segments, with cuts like \u201cNo Man\u2019s Land,\u201d which sports a beautiful Beatles-esque interlude; \u201cI Turn to Stone,\u201d their stoner rock soundtrack to hell; \u201cLonely Freedom,\u201d a killer groove jam provided by a giant Sharlee D\u2019Angelo bass (<strong>Arch<\/strong> <strong>Enemy<\/strong>, ex-<strong>Mercyful Fate<\/strong>); or the marvelous \u201cSouthern Star,\u201d analogous to their other closing epics \u201cMantra\u201d (From <em>Ad Astra<\/em>) or \u201cLonely Road\u201d (From <em>Earth Blues<\/em>). All these songs explode in different spheres of their personal palette and the melodic metal paradigms with adventurous might.<\/p>\n<p>Ludwig Witt&#8217;s (<strong>Firebird<\/strong>, <strong>Grand Magus<\/strong>) drumming is tribal and intense, conjuring the perfect mixing of his instrument recordings and developing his own trademark; aided by Sharlee mountain moving range in the bass, I can safely assure the win of a rhythmic section cemented with professionalism and fury.<\/p>\n<p>Of course the album is not without flaws. Previous records like <em>Earth Blues<\/em> and <em>On Fire<\/em> have tracks that can be compared extensively with some of those presented in <em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em>. For fans like me, this is not a problem; but the rehashing of some rhythmic marks or some chord progression can tap some similarities to some with their preceding hits like \u201cBeneath the Skin,\u201d \u201cDreamer\u201d or \u201cWise as a Serpent,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_94345\"  width=\"320\" height=\"240\"  data-origwidth=\"320\" data-origheight=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FNy5aNLHOcc?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On the other side, if you enjoy the tiny bits of details the band left behind on the linear path\u00a0of the record, you will definitely enjoy this one and be like me, listening to this to ease my need for melodies. Push aside the blogosphere;s idle comparisons to\u00a0<strong>Deep Purple<\/strong> or <strong>Rainbow;<\/strong>\u00a0this record will provide numerous entrances to the band\u2019s already killer live set-lists.<\/p>\n<p>To finish my lines, in an objective moment of madness (and to back up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/mini-reviews-from-around-the-toilet-bowl-02-25-16\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dubs&#8217; opinion<\/a> towards this release), this deserves 4 flaming toilets out of 5 because of the slick presentation, but, in my narrow-minded perspective, this is right now my favorite release of the year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5.jpg?ssl=1\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-38030\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-38030\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5-1024x234.jpg?resize=960%2C219&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5\" width=\"960\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5.jpg?resize=1024%2C234&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5.jpg?resize=300%2C68&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/NEW_TOILETSCALE_4_of_5.jpg?w=1249&amp;ssl=1 1249w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Sunrise to Sundown<\/em> is out via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insideoutshop.de\/Artist\/Spiritual_Beggars\/20873?Page=1&amp;PageSize=25&amp;Sort=13\" target=\"_blank\">InsideOut Music<\/a> and is also available on Spotify, <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/ve\/album\/sunrise-to-sundown\/id1077117033?uo=4&amp;ls=1&amp;app=itunes&amp;at=1l3v3cP&amp;ct=419xmx|insideoutmusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">iTunes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.de\/gp\/product\/B01B250CFO?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=spiritual%20beggars%20sunrise%20to%20sundown&amp;qid=1454665164&amp;ref_=sr_1_1_twi_mus_2&amp;s=music&amp;sr=1-1&amp;tag=smarturl-de-21\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>. A 7&#8243;\u00a0of two covers is also out from the German label H42 Records;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/h42records.bandcamp.com\/album\/thumbsucker-stoned-woman-h42-032\" target=\"_blank\">check it out<\/a>, because the <strong>Mountain<\/strong>\u00a0cover\u00a0rules. You can find Spiritual Beggars\u00a0on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/spiritualbeggarsofficial\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.www.instagram.com\/spiritual_beggars\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/Spiritual_B\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>. If you ever contact with the band (or with Michael Amott) tell him that his elfic fan from the Venezuelan Toilet ov Hell division says hello!<\/p>\n<p><em>Cover art made by <a href=\"http:\/\/twilight13media.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Costin Chioraneu<\/a>.\u00a0Photo: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spiritualbeggars.com\" target=\"_blank\">VIA<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a better road ahead, so c\u2019mon!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":47886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"Our favorite Venezuelan half-elf reviews \"Sunrise to Sundown\", the latest from Spiritual Beggars","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[12,70],"tags":[7376,395,43,6276,1004,1527,5464,5456,7377,5211,7378,3629,5053,7375,6048],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Spiritual-Beggars-Sunrise-to-Sundown.jpg?fit=700%2C460&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}