It's beyond me how such an staggeringly talented bunch could be still unknown in most countries, but with this re-release in the USA, maybe FREAK KITCHEN, the grooviest Metal band ever is the most original and astonishing Swedish melodic Metal act alive probably. It's not easy to describe their crazy mixed music and it may be a major and obvious reason for their marketing difficulties. Indeed it is hard to achieve a brief but accurate description of that band without speaking, telling or writing the wrong words that will turn off some / most Metalheads or giving a false design of this complex music melting pot, regular mind pictures are useless & don't fit with their oblique weirdness. It is very hard to find a right angled view upon their stuff, dynamic / groovy and utterly melodic could have been the best qualifying & rational short sentence for those eccentric young lads works. FRANK ZAPPA / DEVIN TOWNSEND and DIMEBAG in the same body and mind wearing a MR. BUNGLE shirt at a JOHN McLAUGHLING concert. This could have been another sentence to describe those fanciful vikings bizarre and unheard music.

As always their sound is clearly identifiable and the rhythm guitars are heavy as hell, "g" or "sick" have the most prominent sharp energetic & fat guitar sound. The best thing with FREAK KITCHEN is that there is a little something for everyone: bizarre and odd time signatures, hyper technical drums fills, progressives structures, wild shredding guitar but also sing-along melodies / catchy choruses with pop colors and even dance beats or Indian raga fills. Raga rhythm? Yes indeed. After his hugely influential stint with Jonas Hellborg's Art Metal, Mattias "IA" Eklundhwas enough moved to say that some of his best playing was recorded then and there is some visible traces of this collaboration. This comes good most clearly on "Teargas Jazz", which is easily one of the highlight of the album and also on "Murder Groupie" where features also Art Metal members percussionist V. Selvaganesh on Kanjeeraand Neyveli S Radhakrishnan on double-violin.

As it was the case on their also very recommended album of "Organic" with the track "Razor Flower", once again the bass player Christfer Ortefors is also handling some amazing lead vocals for the song "The Only Way" which is the most traditional track but still an enjoyable one. This guy used to be lead singer long before joining the Swedish KITCHEN and it's quite discernible here. "The Smell Of Time" is one of the best FREAK KITCHEN tracks ever with a really haunting melody and a really Pop feel and obviously a strong commercial potential.

Lyrically speaking "Land Of The Freaks" is without any doubt their darkest and their most serious album out so far. So if you are tired of the same predictable double bass blast and the regular Metal format. Here is something for you. Sweden best hidden treasure? Undoubtly yes !!!