If the Hives are Sweden's answer to the Rolling Stones, Turbonegro its Alice Cooper and The Soundtrack of Our Lives its Pink Floyd, then the Hellacopters are the Nordic MC5-despite a sound that's every bit as vital as their fellow Swedes, they've yet to approach a similar level of commercial or critical acceptance in America. Not for want of trying, of course; the band previously appeared on Man's Ruin, Sub Pop and Gearhead. Strategically speaking, issuing their fifth studio album By the Grace of God on indie label Liquor and Poker may seem a lateral move, but artistically there's been a clear qualitative uptick in the songwriting, arranging and playing. The near-surround-sound production is so cortex-caressing you'd swear a gazillion bucks went into making this record, too. Key cuts include the infectious title track, whose twinned guitar and piano melody recalls Blue Oyster Cult at its anthemic and arena-filling best, and "All New Low," which is pure Motor City muscle married to a mob's worth of classic late '70s punk like the Pistols, Damned and Heartbreakers. Elsewhere there are echoes of Cheap Trick, Radio Birdman, the New York Dolls and Thin Lizzy, but make no mistake: these massively melodic riffs, turn-on-a-dime big rawk beats and brawny, harmony-laden vocals add up to a style that's 100% Hellacopters. Keep in mind the MC5's own recent public reappraisal; by the grace of God, maybe right now is this band's time, too.

"If the Hives are Sweden's answer to the Rolling Stones, Turbonegro its Alice Cooper and The Soundtrack of Our Lives its Pink Floyd, then the Hellacopters are the Nordic MC5-despite a sound that's every bit as vital as their fellow Swedes, they've yet to approach a similar level of commercial or critical acceptance in America. Not for want of trying, of course; the band previously appeared on Man's Ruin, Sub Pop and Gearhead. Strategically speaking, issuing their fifth studio album By the Grace of God on indie label Liquor and Poker may seem a lateral move, but artistically there's been a clear qualitative uptick in the songwriting, arranging and playing. The near-surround-sound production is so cortex-caressing you'd swear a gazillion bucks went into making this record, too. Key cuts include the infectious title track, whose twinned guitar and piano melody recalls Blue Oyster Cult at its anthemic and arena-filling best, and ""All New Low,"" which is pure Motor City muscle married to a mob's worth of classic late '70s punk like the Pistols, Damned and Heartbreakers. Elsewhere there are echoes of Cheap Trick, Radio Birdman, the New York Dolls and Thin Lizzy, but make no mistake: these massively melodic riffs, turn-on-a-dime big rawk beats and brawny, harmony-laden vocals add up to a style that's 100% Hellacopters. Keep in mind the MC5's own recent public reappraisal; by the grace of God, maybe right now is this band's time, too.

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