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KILLER BEE
Remember The Times
2019 Freedom Records Sweden

“Yeah, I know yesterday is gone, but what a ride… remember the times.”

KILLER BEE is a Swedish-Canadian band that has been around since the early 1990s. On February 1st, they released Remember The Times, their tenth studio album overall. The band consists of Brian “Bee” Frank – vocals, Anders "LA" Rönnblom – bass, Shawn Duncan – drums, and André Hägglund – guitar.

KILLER BEE once again embrace their ‘70s and ‘80s influences, comparable to their previous release Eye In The Sky (2016). This album is chock-full of visceral, retro-styled, catchy hard rock songs with classic guitar riffs and a nearly ubiquitous backing organ. The moniker I would give this band is FUN, as they are a blast to listen to and always put a smile on my face.

“Rockaholic” is the opening number, and it’s upbeat and bouncy. This track spells it out; these guys live for Rock ‘N’ Roll. The reminiscing title track “Remember The Times” is next, and it’s a barnburner, in the DEEP PURPLE Burn-era sort of way. Love that backing piano. Check out the video on KNAC.COM HERE. “Kids OK” rocks all over the place in a HELIX style; nothing wrong with a little Canadian brotherly influence. “Victorious” was the first single released from the band, and is a little more of a builder, starting slowly and unleashing the goods about midway through the song. I like this track, but don’t think it is indicative of the album as a whole. “Road To Jerusalem” is different too. This is undeniably a spiritual track, and received video treatment as well. The song acts more as a centerpiece to the album, maintaining a slower pace throughout.

“Shine A Light” is the longest track on Remember The Times (at 6:10 in length) and is a passionate semi-ballad with more backing organ. “Hold Your Head Up” (not the ARGENT song) returns to boisterous blues rock with great aplomb – I really dig this track and it just might be my favorite on the album. André adds a classy guitar solo, followed by a brief organ solo. “Gotcha (Better Believe It)” is a moderate rocker with a catchy chorus and some bluesy piano sliding around behind the power chords. “Soul Sucking Woman” is the most vicious track here, but in a tongue in cheek way. The album closes with the shortest track “Burned”, a song that features an almost a stream-of-consciousness vocal from Brian “Bee” Frank.

The takeaway from Remember The Times is “remember the good times”. It’s a solid album, nearly identical to their previous release Eye In The Sky in length and quality (there’s a total of 10 songs, clocking in at approximately 43 minutes.) If you’re looking for something catchy, or if you really enjoyed Eye In The Sky (as I did), check out Remember The Times. I would love to have the chance to see this band live one day, I’m sure they would be very entertaining.

4.0 Out Of 5.0