Album review : SWEET FREEDOM – Blind Leading The Blind

Frontiers [Release date : 29.08.25]

Swedish band Sweet Freedom is the real deal. Head and shoulders above most others walking the Classic Rock road nowadays (even if occasionally going off tangentially).

The band: founder member Jorgen Schelander’s background is in Prog and Metal. He made the astute move of recruiting Håkan Nilsson (g), Jan Lund (b) and Håkan Rangemo (d) all of whom have played together for many years in Deep Purple tribute band, Deepest Purple.

A tight unit then, even before the addition of Matti (Jagged Edge/ Skintrade/ Talisman) Alfonzetti, one of the genre’s pre-eminent vocalists. The icing on the cake. A shrewd move.

Alfonzetti’s robust yet tuneful vocals have the kind of rich, bluesy, tone that encourages the music media to make comparisons with David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes and others.

Truth is, he’s one of a kind. A nearly man who could’ve, should’ve but just didn’t break through into rock music’s Champions’ League.

The sheer craft brought to bear by the band on Blind Leading The Blind is undeniable, but Alfonzetti’s lead performances are so powerful that they go above and beyond almost anything else being done in Classic Rock nowadays.

Schelander makes sure the man’s vocals are always well up in the mix, never overshadowed, even when the pacier, more urgent songs – like ‘Innocent Child’, ‘Skeleton Key’ and ‘Infinity’ – are fuelled by thudding, clanging ‘live in the studio’ noise.

The Classic Seventies Rock sound drummed up on ‘Skin And Bone’ is perfect for that live-in-the-studio dynamic, conveying a greater sense of sponteneity, again heard on ‘Live From The Heart’, armed with a sharper hook.

Schelander’s Prog background breaks through occasionally.
The dreamy, drifting melodies and changing textures on the slower paced ‘Tears Of The Sun’ and ‘Solid Ground’ are carefully marshalled. Similarly, he anchors ‘Another Day’s complex rhythms and dramatic story telling to Alfonzetti’s commanding vocals.

Producer, Stefan (Alice Cooper, Def Leppard) Boman has provided a massive, speaker challenging mix. No surprise, this fine album deserves it. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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