CHEDDAR ~ PSYCHE ... review

Cheddar are a Spanish outfit hailing from Burgos consisting of Clara Dorronsoro (vocals);Daniel Bitrián (guitars); Pablo Cabornero (guitars); Miguel Alonso (bass) and Javier Macho (drums). Now unless you have some personal connection to the band or have seen them play live in their homeland there is no reason why you would recognise any of those names or even have heard of the bands name but that might change when you have gotten a load of their astounding debut "PSYCHE", an astounding mix of crunching prog-like riffage and heady lysergic languidity tinted with elements of occult rock and fronted by soaring vocals that are an enticing mix of power and fragility. 

The sound of chirping birds accompanied by high pitched drones, keyboards and sampled narrative make up intro piece "PSYCHE" which is then followed by "CHRYSALIS I" a stunning mix of arpeggiated noodling and electric guitar crunch framed by rhythms that alternate between languid and loose and heavy and tight over which Dorronsoro layers a sublime vocal that ranges from a seductive whisper to a banshee-like howl, man can this lady SING! Next up we get "CHRYSALIS II" a song that like its sister piece showcases Cheddar's ability to go from heavy to lysergic in a heartbeat. Bitrián and Cabornero's guitars play off and around each other on the songs quieter moments but come together in perfect unison on the songs heavier sections but what really impresses here is Alonso and Macho's almost telepathic understanding of each others parts in the whole, the pair driving the groove hard where it is needed and laying it down loose lysergic and jazzy when and where that dynamic is called for, all four musicians creating the perfect platform for Dorronsoro to launch her incredible vocals from. Cheddar allow the listeners a moment to catch their breaths with the achingly beautiful "LE MORT" then rips that breath away with the quiet /loud/quiet dual attack of "IMAGO I" and its sister piece "IMAGO II", the latter just shading it over the former thanks to Dorronsoro's slightly more emotional vocal. "LIMERENCE" begins life fey and ethereal, with Dorronsoro waxing lyrical about being addicted and disconnected in lush creamy tones, but then takes a turn for the heavy in its last quarter with Alonso and Macho laying down a barrage of groove for Bitrián and Cabornero to decorate with thrumming refrains, tonally opposed motifs and soaring solos. Last but not least comes "LUA" a song that sits sonically somewhere between a less sludgy Rosy Finch and a slightly more heavy Evanescence, which given how good this tune is seems a not too bad place to be sitting.

Elements of prog, alt-rock, occult rock and even hints of symphonic metal can be found nestled among the eight songs that make up "PSYCHE" so placing what Cheddar do in a neatly labelled box is nigh on impossible. Lets just say, other than this is essential listening, is that what Cheddar bring to the table with their debut release is just good intelligent rock music with a penchant for crossing over into many territories and just leave it at that.

Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

DUNGEÖN ~ DUNGEÖN .... review

Been a while since Desert Psychlist dived down the stoner-doom rabbit hole so what better way to revisit said hole than with an EP released by a band from The Psychlist's own UK homeland. The band in question are a trio, Zak Larkins (bass/vocals). Guy Southam (drums) and Keir Sheehan (bass), who go by the name Dunge​ö​n and describe what they do as "noise terror and riff worship", which given the dank, dark nature of their self titled debut EP "Dunge​ö​n" is a pretty apt description.

Opening track "Green Throne" begins, like so many songs do in this genre, with sampled narrative lifted from a horror movie then erupts into low slow reverberating bass and guitar riffage replete with the necessary pounding drumming over which bellowed semi spoken vocals tell their dark tale, it all sounds pretty par for the course so far doesn't it? Well actually it's not and the reason it is not comes down to how well Dunge​ö​n structure their sound, yes there is plenty of repetition and riff reliance going on here but there are also places where the band go off-piste and dare we say get a little cosmic and out there. Following track "Parasite" starts off life eerie and full of menacing suspense then the hammer goes down and the band explode into a seriously fuzzed out and distorted stoner doomic refrain that if it were any heavier would be in danger of  totally collapsing into just noise. Vocals here are again delivered in a tuneful bellow but, thanks to their placement in the mix, are not overbearing or too in the listeners face, a pet hate of Desert Psychlist's is when these type of vocals are pushed too high in the mix but these sit perfectly in the "goldilocks zone" and serve to enhance rather than detract from the songs overall impact. Final number "Condemn The Earth" eases back a little on the fuzz and distortion, albeit only slightly, and boasts a groove that sits somewhere between stoner and proto doom with the latter of those two dynamics being a touch more Electric Wizard than it is Black Sabbath, again there is not much variation to be found in the songs riffs or for that matter the vocal delivery but, like the two previous songs, there is enough for things not to fall into tedium, the swirling solo's and use of sampled narrative elevating the song to a level far above the usual generic plodding this genre can sometimes descend into.

 Ludicrously loud, crushingly heavy and deliciously dank "Dunge​ö​n" is everything you could want from a release bearing the tags doom and sludge metal but it also has so much more working in its favour, its occasional forays into more cosmic territories and its clever use of samples raise its sonic impact from generic to genre defining. 

Check it out ...

© 2024 Frazer Jones

CRACKED MACHINE ~ WORMWOOD ... review

 

Some love instrumental albums while others are not so keen, we at Desert Psychlist fall into the former camp deriving as much enjoyment from a well delivered chord progression as we do from a powerful voice delivering a well written lyric. For us its all about what is needed at the time of listening, if we want an album that voices our joys or dissatisfactions then we will probably opt for something with vocals, if on the other hand we are looking to be taken out of ourselves and want to hear music that will reflect a mood or a feeling than something instrumental tends to be our go to. UK trio Cracked Machine, Bill Denton (Guitar/synths); Chris Sutton (bass) and Gary Martin (drums) jam instrumental grooves that fall into the latter category, a swirling soaring blend of heavy psych, lysergic post rock and space that inhabits the sort of territories bands like Colour Haze, Causa Sui, Yawning Man and My Brother the Wind have made their home. This year the band release their fourth album "Wormwood" (KozmiK Artifactz) a collection of eight breath-taking soundscapes that will take you to places you didn't know you wanted to go to until you arrived there.

Things begin really well with opening track "Into the Chronosphere", the songs chiming circular guitar motifs, blustering and intricate percussion and deeply delicious bass liquidity give the listener a sense of transportation, a feeling of being taken somewhere but not quite knowing where. "Song of Artemis" follows and if we are using the "journey" analogy then this songs represents that period of a journey where the traveller is settling down and taking stock, the songs constant flitting between calm languidity and lysergic loudness indicative of the excitement and apprehension experienced when venturing into the unknown. "The Glowing Sea" finds our traveller donning his/her suit to step outside the craft and take a look at the vastness of his/her surroundings, the backdrop for this excursion a mix of swirly synth textures and effect laden guitar solos driven by tight drum and bass, the overall effect coming over like a musical meeting between King Buffalo and Øresund Space Collective. "Eiganstate" is up next an intriguing mid tempo space rocker with a bluesy desert rock undercurrent which is then followed by "Return to Anteres" a moody slice of spacious guitar drenched desert rock anchored by superb bass work and driven by restrained but highly effective drumming. Next stop is "Burning Mountain" a song that sees Cracked Machine not only getting a little Floydian but also sees them toying with touches of Ozric Tentacles like ambient prog. Penultimate track "Desert Haze" is the only track on the album we at Desert Psychlist have a slight quibble with, not because it falls short of anything musically but because it desperately seems to want to go to another level but is restrained from going there. Title track "Wormwood" brings things to a close with Cult-like guitar motifs and scorching solos spiralling over and around each other beneath which heavily fuzzed out bass lines lock in with a mixture of solid and fluid drum patterns, a fittingly upbeat finale to what has been one hell of a trip.

Cracked Machine might not be as well known as some of those bands that they share musical territories with but on the strength of "Wormwood" it won't be long before they are. Stunning from its start to its finish "Wormwood" is essential listening not just for those with a soft spot for instrumental music but for those who love music period. 

Check it out ...

© 2024 Frazer Jones

RED SUN SERMON ~ QUEEN OF SWORDS ..... review

The blues can be found at the root of most modern music, sometimes its influences are obvious sometimes not so much, the band we are reviewing today have a sound that falls into both categories with the blues playing both a major and minor role in their sonic attack. The band we are talking about is Red Sun Sermon a four piece unit from Missouri, a band who use the blues as a starting point from which to stretch out and explore other arena's of music while knowing that they always have the blues to fall back on if things get too messy. The band have just released their debut album "Queen of Swords", a scintillating collection of songs informed by the blues but not restricted by the genre.

The blues are not an obvious influence on opening track "Sermon Gladiorum" in fact this instrumental bares scant resemblance to any forms of the genre, doom with a heavy hint of heady psych would be a better description being how it begins light and lysergic then evolves into a brief but thundersome riff fest driven by pounding percussion. "Rough Cut" follows and here we find Red Sun Sermon getting their blues mojo well and truly on with vocalist Kat's strong sultry tones soaring over a backdrop of ever shifting groove that runs the full gamut of heavy blues rock styles. The band bring a touch of southern rock  swagger to the table for "High On You", the songs addictive guitar motifs and driving rhythms reminiscent of those once the remit of cult boogie merchants Raging Slab only with smoother more seductive vocals. For their next song Red Sun Sermon stop off to share "Coffee with the Devil", the song a romping rocker decorated with infectious and quirky vocal meters. Things get a touch ethereal and moody for "Circles" a song that boasts a deliciously dusky vocal and a groove rooted in the blues but with a very ear pleasing tendency to wander into both doomic and lysergic territories. "Satiate" is up next, the song a chugging cosmic blues rocker decorated with a strong and powerful vocal and boasting surf like guitar motifs and scorching solos supported by low bouncy bass and tight drumming. "I'm asking questions, You're telling lies" state the lyrics to final song "Likely Story", a vitriolic rant against deception and deceit delivered in a mixture of world weary and snarly tones against a backdrop of crunching guitar riffage and punchy percussion, a fittingly gritty closer to a nicely gritted album 

Metallic bluesiness flecked with touches of southern swagger and occult rock ethereality over which an element of lysergic acidity is liberally sprinkled is the jam Red Sun Sermon bring to the pulpit with "Queen of Swords", s sound that is not not overly heavy or exceptionally gnarly but one that is nevertheless both highly impressive and extremely enjoyable.

Check 'em out .... 

 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

SPECTRAL SORCERY ~ DUNGEONS OF DOOM .... review

Thanks to the availability of (fairly) affordable home recording software one person projects have become more and more of a "thing" over the last few years, some of these projects have in the past tended to be a bit rough and raw but as the software becomes more advanced and readily available so the quality of these recordings has become almost indistinguishable from those albums recorded in an all bells and whistles professional studio.. The EP we are bringing to your attention today, "Dungeons of Doom", is one such one man project, the man in question hiding his identity beneath the pseudonym Spectral Sorcery, the EP a doom drenched three song affair swathed in grainy fuzz and sporting darkly melodic clean vocals. 

 There are only three songs populating Spectral Sorcery's debut EP but but they are three songs any discerning fan of psych drenched doom would not want to be without. The first "The Tomb of the Demilich", a slice of dreamy lo-fi psychedelic doom, is sublime in all its departments and boasts strong clean vocal melodies bolstered by searing lead guitar, however what really captivates here is the songs low end droning fuzziness which when combined with those guitar textures gives the song an almost orchestral feel. Spectral Sorcery (for that is how we will refer to this talented multi-instrumentalist) mixes his dooms for next track "Return to the Barrow Downs" blending a little proto-doom swagger with traditional doom atmospherics and then sprinkling the result with touch of dark heavy psych over which he tells a tale of spectral voices and a wights refrain in strong dark melodic tones, its powerful stuff! Final song "Dungeons of Doom" sees Spectral Sorcery changing things up vocally by double tracking his vocals to give them an almost Gregorian cadence which in turn gives the song a feeling of dark spirituality, a spirituality further enhanced by its thundering slow rhythms and that spiralling droning fuzziness we spoke of earlier.

If there is one criticism to be levelled at Spectral Sorcery's "Dungeons of Doom" it is that at only three songs it is far too short and tends  to leave the listener feeling somewhat a little robbed, but then the fact that its brevity does foster this feeling also tells you just how damn good this EP is. Let us just hope that Spectral Sorcery reads this and immediately locks himself in his home studio/dungeon and does not come out again until he has recorded a full album packed with tunes as good and as powerful as these three. 

Check him out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

THAT SHIP HAS SAILED ~ KINGDOM OF NOTHING EP ...... review

Do you remember stoner/desert rock in its early days, when the (then) new genre took its influences more from Black Flag than it did Black Sabbath, when a desert was seen as a viable venue and when people were not sure if Brant Bjork was a member of ABBA, a tennis player or the brother of an Icelandic songstress. Well those who who do remember those days are sure to find "Kingdom of Nothing EP", the latest EP from California's That Ship Has Sailed, very much to their taste. 

"I Am, Yeah" opens this neat little collection of raucousness its droning intro suddenly exploding into a caustic mix of raunchy riffs and tight rhythms fronted by vocals delivered in sneery punkish tones, tones that were very much de rigueur in the early days of the desert rock scene.. "One Legged Dog" follows and here we find a vocal trade off between those clean sneery tones of the previous track and harsher almost shouty tones, this war of voices played out over a backdrop of groove boasting an equally interesting blend of proto-metallic tinted garage rock and four to the floor desert rock. Next track "Sweet Journey" spins along on an ear pleasing circular guitar refrain driven by basement level growling bass and busy drumming and features some cool wordless harmonies going on behind the songs gritty lead vocal. Anyone out there with a knowledge of  80's British rock music might notice a Stone Roses vibe creeping into the middle section of next track "Iron Eagle II" albeit bookended by some highly enjoyable heavy stonerized rock, the song also boasting one of the EP's least gnarled vocal performances. . Final number "Ready To Go" sees That Ship Has Sailed returning to their early desert roots with a gritty hard driven fuzzy rocker decorated with a vocal attack that ranges from punkish and clean to harsh and growly and also features some searing guitar pyrotechnics, a real barnburner to finish things off.

That Ship Has Sailed describe their sound as "prehistoric stoner rock" which is their way of saying that the music they bring to the table has been heavily influenced by the bands and the music from the early days of the genre, which is fine by us and we suspect many of you reading this too.

Check 'em out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

BAGUAL ~ INHVMAR ... review

It feels very much like their are new Chilean bands popping up every other day and you will not find us complaining as the country has become a hotbed of exciting new talent, however the album we are reviewing today comes from an outfit who have been around for a while. Bagual, Francisco Yañez (vocals/guitar; Christian Spencer (vocals/guitar); Alejandro Clavijo (drums) and Julián Inostroza (bass), have been roasting ears with their brand of prog laced stoner metal and heavy psych since 2011 and in that time have put out some truly blistering albums the latest of which, "Inhvumar" may well be their best to date.

Title track "Inhvumar"kicks things off, an experimental instrumental piece with a torch-like dynamic that is then followed by "Panteones" a song that showcases the real meat and potatoes of Bagual's sonic attack, its blend of clean and dirty guitar textures, framed by a tight yet fluid rhythm section, is on another level and is further enhanced by vocals (Spanish) that sway between punkish harshness and melodic grittiness. "Volcanes" (featuring the vocals of Emilo Fabar Mella) is up next and the intensity showcased in the previous song drops not one single iota, the guitar work here, and for that matter the whole album, is astounding at times with Yañez and Spencer trading off on licks, solos and riffs with an almost telepathic understanding, the two six-stringers ably supported by Clavijo's impressively industrious drumming and Inostroza's growling low bass lines. For their next song "Monolitos" Bagual take a more stoner(ish) path, the proggish complexities touched on previously not so much jettisoned as side-lined for a more crunchy in your face musical dynamic, a dynamic reflected in its slightly more aggressive throaty vocals. Its back into experimental waters for "Recitativo", with Gregorian like harmonies chanted over a backdrop of drones and spacious eerie ambience which then makes way for "Cenizas" a full on stoner metal assault on the senses interrupted by a brief passage of post-rock languidity. Penultimate number "Peregrinos" sees Bagual cleaning up the vocal attack slightly but not the filthiness of their musical attack which apart from another brief lapse into the post-rock arena is again aggressive and full on. Final track " Oubaitori" is a prog-metal tour-de force that features Marcela Villarroel guesting on lead vocals, the songs undulating mix of Latin flavoured vocal meters and heavy stoner prog grooves serving as a fitting, and surprisingly accessible, finale to a strong and powerful album.

Thrumming refrains, thunderous rhythms and powerfully delivered vocals offset with moments of spacious post-rock and heavy psych atmospherics is what you get with Bagual's "Inhvmar" and what you get is what you will want more of after hearing this brain-frying opus. 

Check it out ...

© 2024 Frazer Jones

KALA AZAR ~ KALA AZAR .... review

"Rock is Dead!" is a line traipsed out every year by the media yet every year Desert Psychlist gets more and more debut EP's and albums landing on our overly cluttered desk from new bands playing their own forms of this supposedly dead art form. The latest debut to hit our desk comes from a Swiss trio going by the name of Kala Azar, three guys with a background in crust, hardcore and death metal who have got together to try their hand at some low tuned and sludgy doom, something that we think they pull off with some style after listening to "Kala Azar", the bands debut self-titled album.

Opening song "Nothingness" introduces itself with droning effects and a reverberating guitar motif beneath sampled narrative lifted from Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror movie "Psycho" then explodes into life with a crunching guitar refrain supported by thundering drum patterns and grizzled bass lines over which a thick bear like vocal tells of "climbing stairs to nowhere", the songs full on sludge/doom dynamic only interrupted by a brief but effective dip into more ambient waters. it's powerful stuff! The song the band take their name from, "Kala Aza", rears its gnarly head next, the song references a nasty viral disease called Visceral leishmaniasis caused by a parasite and like that parasite this song gets under the skin with an ear pleasing mixture of chugging riffs, slow pounding percussion and powerful throaty vocals.  If you have ever been to a hot country and sat down to a meal only to spend more time swatting insects away than you have spent enjoying your food then next track "Flies" is the song for you, although we suspect the songs lyrics have a much deeper meaning than just a throaty rant against annoying winged beasties, heavier than a truck load of lead pipes the song boasts dank stoner doomic guitar riffage and pummelling percussion and in terms of its overall sonic impact is probably the albums most "blackened" sounding performance. Kala Azar sign off with "Stone Fragments" a sublime mix of crushing doom, swampy sludge metal and dark heavy psych decorated with a strong gravelled vocal, the song tends to dwell around just one main riff, varying the tempo of that riff so as not to become tedious while adding little subtle touches of  six-string colouring here and there to add texture, a gnarled curtain closer on a seriously impressive debut.

Naming your band after a particularly nasty disease might seem a strange thing to do but given that one of the symptoms of kala-azar is a blackening of the skin it kind of makes sense as the bands sound definitely falls into what could be described as "blackened" territory. Either way Kala Azar's debut is a stunning opus packed to the gills with everything the discerning metalhead/doomer/stoner could possibly hope for when pushing play on a brand new album.

Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

HORSE GOD ~ GIRAFFATRON ... review

 Those of you out there with a love of fuzzy stoner/hard rock but who also have a soft spot some heavy prog-metal complexity are in for a real treat when you wrap an ear around Horse God's debut album "Giraffatron", not only do you get all the crunch and fuzz you could possibly ask for you also get complex chord progressions, intricate and heavy rhythmic patterns as well as unique powerful vocals of a quality and tone you may be unused to hearing in this type of musical setting.

Horse God, Stove Knapp (vocals, bass, synth); Jason Fuerst  (guitars) and Brad Bauman (drums), have a sound that is in parts familiar and in parts totally different from what you may expect, they have all the heavy riffs and thunderous rhythms we expect to hear from a bands operating in and around the underground rock scene but then they also have this prog element going on. It is this prog element that sets Horse God apart from their contemporaries, it is an element unlike any you will find on albums by big prog-metal hitters like Dream Theater and Mastodon, instead you would need to check out bands like Poland's Riverside and Britain's Amplifier before trying to make comparisons and even then you won't come close because there is of course those stoner/heavy rock elements to take into consideration. So we have discussed the music now lets focus on the vocals and here too we find Horse God swimming against the tide, instead of the soaring power of a James LaBrie (Dream Theater) or the low guttural growl of an early Mikael Akerdfelt (Opeth) Horse God's Knapp opts for a tone and delivery that sits somewhere between a post-punk howl and a semi-gothic croon with occasional forays into falsetto yodelling, just as impactful and powerful as those two gentlemen mentioned earlier but a touch quirkier and different. We won't go into a full track by track analysis here, much better that you witness these songs in your own time, we will however point out a few songs we feel best represent this bands overall sound such as the excellently quirky "Wings of the Sea", the spinning Cult-like "Thundersnow" and the doom flecked "The Battle", though in truth you will not find a track on this album you won't like. 

There are plenty of bands out there who have made a name for themselves by blending heavy rock and metal with prog but not many who can claim to sound anything quite like Horse God, prog-metal has of late started to get a little stale and predictable but these guys, by adding elements from a wide source of unexpected musical sources, have made it interesting again

Check 'em out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

MIASMA ~ A GLANCE OF MIASMA .... review

It is fairly common knowledge that we at Desert Psychlist tend to shy away from the more extreme ends of the rock and metal spectrum and prefer our music to be sitting at the slightly more accessible end of the underground spectrum where you can still find gnarliness but where that gnarliness is slightly diluted by elements of heavy psych, blues and old school heavy rock. Having said that we do tend to get drawn to those bands who walk a razor thin line between those two camps, something that brings us nicely around to Miasma, the subject of this review. Miasma hail from Yogyakarta, Indonesia and have heralded in the new year by releasing their debut EP (more a mini album) "A Glance Of Miasma" (Hawar Press), a gnarled and twisted mix of stoner doom, psychedelic sludge and blackened stoner metal guaranteed to blow your speakers to smithereens

It seems a "thing" to start an album or EP with a track called "Intro" these days and Miasma's debut does just that, at 3;12 this "Intro", an instrumental, lasts a little longer than most and sways back and forth between mid tempo thundering heaviness and low slow heavy psych utilising brief but wholly effective dark toned guitar solos to add texture and atmosphere to its crunchy doomic magnificence. Second track "Son of Hatred" introduces vocals on top of a plodding backdrop of crunching guitar, low growling bass and thunderous drumming, well we say "on top" but in reality they dwell somewhere in the middle of the mix and are more like harmonic bellows than actual singing, the brutality of those vocal tones combined with their vicinity in the mix working as the perfect accompaniment for the dank psych tinted heaviness surrounding them. "Druglord" is next a brooding proto-doomic behemoth with Sabbathian undertones that boasts slightly more melodic but nonetheless still bellowed vocals and features some deliciously killer lead guitar work. "The Forsaken" begins life with marching style drums beneath a  reverberating guitar and bass refrain then eases back on the accelerator to slip into a more stoner doom refrain before suddenly exploding again and taking off on a mid temp proto(ish) groove with those roared bear-like vocals once again joining the fray. Final track "Prophet of Abaddon" sees Miasma putting all their musical elements together in one song, blackened doom, swampy sludge and off-centred heavy psych all sitting side by side beneath a vocal that is manic in both its tone and its delivery, a truly beautiful ugliness.

Delightfully dank, deliciously dark and dynamically devastating Miasma's "A Glance of Miasma" debunks all those ideas some people have that anything recorded outside the America's and Europe is bound to be poorly recorded and raw. Yes there are raw edges to be found on this debut release but those edges have been put there intentionally and give the songs contained beneath its well illustrated artwork a grittiness and bite they would surely have lacked had the production been too clean and glossy. 

Check 'em out.....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

TEMPORAL DRIVER ~ A TREATISE OF SORCERY: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MYSTICISM IN MAGIC ..... review

There is not much we can tell you about Temporal Driver's line-up, other than they are a four piece and they hail from Denver, Colorado, even that font of knowledge Encyclopedia Metallum has failed to come up with a list of personnel for this band despite these guys being active on all the usual social media sites. Given that the title of their debut is "A Treatise of Sorcery: The Definitive Guide to Mysticism in Magic" this air of mystery sort of works in their favour and gives those who don't know the band on a personal level a feeling that they are dealing with four Grand Wizard's who if their true identities were discovered would turn the discoverer into a toad or something much worse. The band describe their music as a "combination of desert rock and stoner metal with a basis in doom" and there are no arguments to be found here on that account as that is exactly what it is.

The desert rock aspect of the bands sound is thrust right to the front on the intro to opening number "Enter: Hototo" with twanging guitar textures accompanying sampled narrative telling of the delights and dangers of LSD before things quickly go doomic with low slow and heavy riffs and rhythms framing a mixture of powerful clean and guttural vocal tones with those cleaner tones having a slightly gothic edge, a highly impressive introduction to Temporal Driver's musical world. Following number "Tie The Devil Down" ups the tempo somewhat and has a groove very much in stoner/hard rock territory but what really grabs the ear about this song is its vocal which boasts an almost theatrical/shock rock feel in places. Next track "Marooned In Reality" mixes a smidgeon of the blues with its doom, crunching guitars and basement low bass driven by solid unfussy drumming over which a clean semi crooned vocal tells its tales of misery and despair. Those desert rock flavoured guitar tones return for "Ms Callin" a highly enjoyable, if somewhat sinister, tome with superb lyrics and a vocal melody that'll stay in your head for days. "Grasstronaut" is a low slow "weedian" flavoured opus that nods its head to Sleep and bands of that ilk while final number, "The Divine Oration", finds Temporal Driver jamming a groove that sits somewhere between Dopelord and Bauhaus with a vocal that leans closer to the latter than it does the former, the song serving as a mind-blowing finale to a mind-blowing album.

Desert Psychlist was not sure what to expect when we pushed play on Temporal Driver's "A Treatise Of Sorcery: The Definitive Guide To Mysticism In Magic", the artwork gave nothing away and that big wordy title suggested a complex and convoluted prog-like concept piece. What we got however, when we finally did press play, was a powerful dark and dank assemblage of songs tinted with elements of doom, desert rock, psych and British goth, an album that any lover of good melodic heavy music would want gracing their collection. 

Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones