release date: Apr. 15, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Kent, Martin von Schmalensee, Zed Nagrano
label: RCA / BMG Sweden - nationality: Sweden
Track highlights: 1. "Sundance Kid" - 2. "Pärlor" - 3. "Dom andra" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Hur jag fick dig att älska mig" (5 / 5) - 6. "Kärleken väntar" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Socker" - 8. "FF" (4 / 5) - 10. "Sverige" (4 / 5)
5th studio album by Kent, who really has slowed down on the realisation time. Maybe they were inspired by the success of spending longer time in the studio with the predecessor. The fact is that it took the band three years working on this, and expectations were way up after the fine '99 album, and in my mind, this even betters the acclaimed Hagnesta Hill. The music is more subdued, and contains several great ballads, in a sense making it more Swedish in an almost Bergman way. I think, they went from trying to make English-versioned albums from 1997-2000, and having little success with that they then went 100% in the making of a Swedish album. Also, the music is a turn to a more electronic sound.
The album wasn't unnoticed as Kent won the Swedish Rockbjörnen (prize founded by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet) and Grammis (The Swedish Grammy given by Phonographic Industry Sweden) in 2002 for Album of the Year, and Joakim Berg won the prize as both Best Songwriter and Best Composer, and internationally, they also won the prize as Best Nordic Act at MTV Europe Music Award 2002. The album is the band's best-selling album to date topping the album charts in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and with that they realised they were able to be successful singing in Swedish only. Also, the three singles issued from this fared better than before. "Dom andra" was issued Mar. 18, and it is the band's first number #1 single in Sweden [of a total of only 6 top-charting singles and eps in the band's long career with 11 studio albums topping the national chart list]. The second single, track #6, wasn't issued until July and the last, track #8, had its release in November - both peaked at number #2 on the singles chart list.
Vapen & ammunition is simply the band's so far best album.
Highly recommendable.
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