Do you think hard rock from Sweden with a huge Seventies attitude is a great idea? Well, here you go: JEET KUNE DO and their debut “Strike First” is the right place.
Founded in 2021 by ex- members of, for instance, Electric Earth and The Hellacopters are experienced, and obviously hungry for a new outfit playing a style & sound that celebrates the good ol’ days in the here and now. They started out as a cover band before taking the leap of writing their own material. Their influences include KISS, Whitesnake, Ozzy, Deep Purple, etc.
Why did they decided to name themselves after a hybrid martial arts philosophy made famous by Bruce Lee? Not sure, but at least it’s distinct and something people wouldn’t expect from a Swedish band. Fun, as JEET KUNE DO’s music.
The production is perfect for this classic hard rock style; not too slick and not too raw. Instrumentation is great; the bass lines are fat and juicy, the guitar work is dirty and driving, the drumming isn’t too busy, while the lead vocals have an exotic flair that gives a special touch.
The album kicks off with “I Am Your Doctor,” which, not going to lie, upon first listen, lead vocalist and bassist Uffe Andersson sounds like a mix between Whitesnake’s David Coverdale and Animal from The Muppets. He’s got that European flair, obviously, but he also has the wild and uncontrollable persona of an “animal.” It should be noted, however, that Andersson definitely has the swagger and attitude of Coverdale, and that’s very important when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll. The crunchy guitar tone gives the song, actually the whole album, an old-school, classic rock feel.
The backing vocals for songs like “Fly Away,” “U Got It,” and “No Halo” add a melodic aspect to the band’s sound. “U Got It” and “No Halo” are similar musically, both of them being midtempo rockers with a memorable hook and a catchy chorus. The latter is the better one of the two because the lyrics are really clever.
“Moves Like a Cat” is filled with more lovely sexual innuendo and it unknowingly references The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.” Sounds like it’ll be a popular one to play live. This is classic, meat and potatoes, rock ‘n’ roll.
The album length is perfect too, being 38 minutes. ”First Strike” is only the band’s first album, so they’ll have plenty of time to develop their songwriting and musicianship throughout their rock ‘n’ roll journey.
Give it a listen! It will be absolutely worth it.
Highly Recommended
1. I Am Your Doctor (03:21)
2. Strange Addiction (04:10)
3. Fly Away (03:40)
4. Down Down (04:36)
5. U Got It (04:31)
6. Highway 45 (05:12)
7. Holy Mary (03:36)
8. No Halo (04:53)
9. Moves Like a Cat (04:19)
Uffe Andersson – bass guitar and lead vocals
Marko Kallunki – drums
Jerker Nilsson – guitars and backing vocals
Tommy Svensson – guitars and backing vocals
Jeet Kune Do – First Strike (2025) , MP3+FLAC
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