Review NIGHTHAWK “Vampire Blues”

Nighthawk is the brainchild of Robert Majd, who started the band as a project. The debut album was released in 2021, while it was the sophomore release “Prowler” that received very positive reactions from fans. It’s a very solid hard rock album with Soilwork frontman Björn Stid as singer.

With “Vampire Blues” the band launches the next longplayer and already while listening to the opener “Hard Rock Fever” it becomes clear that it’s a different singer this time. It is Linnea Vikström (Thundermother) who has taken over the vocal duties and also the rest of the band is a very experienced group with Robban Eriksson (The Hellacopters) & Peter Hermansson (220 Volt) on drums, Nalle Påhlsson (Treat) on bass and Richard Hamilton (Houston) on keyboards.

Like the previous longplayer, the new album contains two cover songs. The first is “SOS (Too Bad)” by the Boston rock veterans Aerosmith. It is a great interpretation of the song and it becomes obvious that working with a different singer this time was a smart move. This has nothing to do with Strid’s performance on “Prowler”. It is more that Vikström adds a different feel to the songs on “Vampire Blues”. Her rougher voice adds a dirty vibe to each of the tracks, which is also true for the cover versions.

The second one is by the way “Hold It Baby” by Sam & Dave, which comes with a stronger bluesy note. This one, as well as most of the other songs, are spot-on hard rock tracks, mostly under the three minute mark.

Songs like “Generation Now”, the furious “Turn to the Night” and the dirty rocker “Come and Get It” are great examples of well-crafted Swedish rock music, as they combine heaviness with a great sense for melodies and hooks.

Nighthawk deliver with “Vampire Blues” a great hard rock record that entertains and grooves like hell. Listening to these songs is pure fun and whether you want it or not, you will get into a great party mood while listening to this release.