These Are Evil Times

Though historically known for their lighthearted covers of metal songs, Swedish pop trio Hellsongs branch out a bit on These Are Evil Times, mixing in some original work along with the normal collection of heavy metal staples. Because of this mixture of reworked metal gems and new songs, the album could easily slip by an inattentive listener as just another record of perfectly pleasant Swedish pop. A quick glance at the track list, however, reveals the album's dark heart. Kicking the album off is the band's cover of Black Sabbath's iconic "Iron Man," which is transformed from a droning epic about a metallic time traveler into a bubbly romp, giving the song a surreal and twee quality that one might've previously thought impossible. Elsewhere, Rammstein's typically marching industrial metal offering "Engel" gets reworked into a bouncy electro-lounge romp, effervescently fizzing along even as it's sung in its original German. These Are Evil Times finds Hellsongs departing from their usual schtick, shuffling some of their own songs into the mix, and their lighthearted pop blends in perfectly with their metal covers. This gives the album a surreal flow; as soon as you start to think, "Wait, is this a cover?," a track like "A Silence So Loud" kicks in, giving you pause as you wonder if you're just hearing things. And while Hellsongs albums filled with lovingly reimagined tributes to the musical dark arts had their own kind of charm, it's nice to see the bandmembers trying to prove they're more than a novelty act by branching out and taking some risks.