Greenleaf – The Head And The Habit

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · August 28, 2024

Greenleaf, from Borlange, Sweden was created as a side project in late 1999. Guitarist Tommi Holappa (also in Dozer) is the only original member in the band and also the main songwriter. The other current members of Greenleaf are: Arvid Hallagard on vocals, Hans Frohlich on bass, and Sebastian Olsson on drums. The band have just released their ninth studio record called The Head And The Habit on Magnetic Eye Records, June 21st, 2024.

The current lineup have been together since 2018’s Hear The Rivers and 2021’s Echoes From A Mass. Vocalist Arvid Hallagard and drummer Sebastian Olsson joined Greenleaf on 2014’s Trails & Passes record and also played together on 2016’s Rise Above The Meadows. The band really shifted gears when Arvid and Sebastian joined, solidifying their sound and stabilizing the band’s lineup. Prior to them joining, Greenleaf had a host of guest vocalists and different drummers involved. To be honest, I’m a huge fan of every release that the band has done and started listening to them back in 2005. A brief history of the primarily vocalists of the band included: Lowrider’s Pedar Bergstrand (Greenleaf’s debut 2000 EP and various songs throughout), Dozer’s Fredrik Nordin (Revolution Rock (2001), Secret Alphabets (2003), and various songs throughout), and Truckfighter’s Oskar Cedermalm (Agents Of Ahriman (2007) and Nest Of Vipers (2012).) They also had other special guest singers on random songs throughout those years. The band’s most recent engineer/producer/mixer, who has been working with the band for their last six records, Karl Daniel Liden, also played drums for Greenleaf on their first three recordings and Dozer’s Through The Eyes Of Heathens record. Two other former Dozer drummers who also played for Greenleaf were Erik Backwall and Olle Marthans. Longtime record producer Bengt Backe was the original bassist for the band and played on the first six releases. Also, Dozer bassist Johan Rockner played bass on Rise Above The Meadows and second guitar on Nest Of Vipers. There’s more history of guest musicians within the band but these are the main ones.

The long anticipated album The Head And The Habit features nine new songs of some of the finest heavy (stoner/riff) rock out there today. This record is a freaking monster! There’s a reason why they are one of my favorite bands in existence today. The evolution of Greenleaf’s sound has transformed since their humble beginnings as a 70’s hard rock influenced band. As mentioned before, once they got vocalist Hallagard and drummer Olsson (who also plays drums on Dozer’s Drifting In The Endless Void(review here)) in the band, the sound transcended into a sonic exploration of musical craftsmanship. Hans Frohlich is a phenomenal bassist that has added warmth and depth to their sound as well. I believe Holappa is one of the absolute best guitarists and songwriters in heavy rock music today. His crafting of riffs and leads throughout the career span of both Greenleaf and Dozer alike cannot be overlooked or underestimated. The band as a collective are on top of their game and continue to impress me with every record they create.

“Breathe, Breathe Out” starts the record off with the drums and then with the guitars accentuating. After a few measures, the music builds up and it all joins together and kicks in. When the vocals start, the music backs off a little allowing Hallagard to express his soulful singing on the verses. It gives the chorus a little boost when it enters. Greenleaf are keen on musical dynamics and intricacies throughout the record. They execute every song in such a way. “Avalanche” is trademark Greenleaf with guitar driven rock and stampedes of rhythms when necessary. The lighter structures of the song setup nicely for the heavy tsunami of riffs. “Different Horses” starts with guitar and has a mid pace feel about it mostly. At around the two minute mark, it goes into a cool musical bridge with nice guitar textures enhanced by the bass and then drums which builds up nicely. The vocals join in “hear them running all over again, over and over, again”repeating as the song picks up. Olsson adds some crazy drum fills at the end of the song too. The fourth track “Wolf In My Mind” is a total monster! The song begins with drums and Olsson executes some stellar percussion throughout. Holappa has some great guitar riffing and leads also. Frolich’s bass lines with Arvid’s vocals are top notch and the flow of the whole song is perfect. The lyrical concepts of this song and record are surreal too. The chorus of this track goes “The head and the habit, There’s a wolf in my mind, And I don’t wanna have it, Though I use it all the time.” The bio on the band’s Bandcamp page states :

“As the album title implies, the new songs resemble symbolic short stories that revolve around emotional struggles and even mental illness. Written by the vocalist, the lyrics reflect real life experience as Hällagård works with people who suffer from problems with drug abuse and psychological health.” He also constructed the album artwork and the CD version comes with a hard cover lyric book of photos and enhanced artwork. It’s a great addition to have with this release.

“The Obsidian Grin” is a short and mellow bluesy number that really displays Arvid’s classically trained voice. His soulful vocals and emotional delivery are remarkable. Again, the band make use of skillful songwriting and dynamics and tone things down in contrast to the heaviness. The next song “The Sirens Sound” gets back to business and carries the torch of heavy rock with the Greenleaf essence. Good, classic sounding riff rock with blistering guitars and bombastic drumming. The seventh track “Oh Dandelion” grooves with the best of them too and is another fantastic piece of well constructed music. When the band gets to the next track “The Tricking Tree,” the longest cut on the record, boasting over eight minutes, they are primed for action. The song takes the listener on a cerebral journey into musical mastery. They pause around the 3:45 minute point and play a slow and bass driven passage that flourishes bluesy guitar leads and a dirge of haunting rhythms that fade out. The final song “An Alabastrine Smile” has a melancholy tone and ends the recording with a Graveyard vibe to it.

Overall, I’m pretty blown away about how magnificent The Head And The Habit is. Every song has its own unique feel and place on the record and collectively all of them gel together. I’m absolutely certain that this album will be on many top year end best of lists.