THE HOLY MOUNTAIN ~ THE HOLY MOUNTAIN 2024 ..... review

We have not featured a South Korean band on Desert Psychlist's pages prior to today's review so this is a first for us and what a beauty we have picked to break our duck. The album we are reviewing today is the debut release from Seoul based outfit The Holy Mountain titled "The Holy Mountain 2024" a collection of seven riffcentric tunes that  reside in the canons of doom, sludge and stoner metal. Given their name and the sound they make together it is fairly obvious that the band, Hyung Jin Seo (bass/vocals); Suyong Cho (guitars) and Joseph Kim (drums), are heavily influenced by Sleep but listen hard and you will find that there is a little more going on here than just some Matt Pike worship.

Things start off with the H. P. Lovecraft inspired "...at the Mountains of Madness" its synthesised bass intro is soon joined by guitars and drums in a thrumming and crunchy circular groove embellished with an array of effects over and around which a throaty vocal tells of "hopeless hope" and "blasphemous black serpents" in tones that borders on the edges of manic. Next up is "Promised Land", a song that sees the sludge and doom that prevailed previously being jettisoned for a groove that leans close to heavy stoner rock and boasts some really impressive blues flavoured lead work. "Make My Day" follows and carries in its armoury a to die for riff and vocal melody that will stay with you days after its last note has faded into silence. "Sweet Nothings", an ode to indulgence, is an irresistible foot-tapping stonerized rocker with suitably lived in vocals while "Show You My Way" is what you might have got if the late Dave Sherman (The Obsessed/Earthride/Spirit Caravan) had ever thrown his lot in with Monster Magnet. There is a rolling down the highway feel to next song "Maximum Overdrive" which is very apt given its muscle car lyrical content and hard driven dynamics. Raucous is the only way to describe last track "No Compromise" a song that lives up to its title by being a no frills, no fucks given mix of sludge riffage and hardcore rhythms decorated in throat shredding vocal vitriol.

 Sleep might be the band that inspired The Holy Mountain's name and the title of their debut album but in truth what you will be hearing when spinning this excellent collection of tunes is more connected to the fuzz'n'roll of the early stoner scene than the post Sabbath proto doom of Sleep, yes there is plenty of  dankness to be found on "The Holy Mountain 2024" but there are also elements of the blues and hard rock to be found here also, albeit with a touch of delicious sludginess in the engine room.

Check it out ... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

ASTRAL NOMAD ~ NOMAD-1... review

Polish combo Astral Nomad, Bartek Kowal (drums); Damian Chojnacki (vocals/guitar); Artur Olej (guitars) and Szymi Baran (bass), are the latest in a long line of Polish bands to appear on the hallowed pages of Desert Psychlist, an inclusion that will come as no surprise to our regular readers as we have long sung the praises of the Polish underground rock and metal scene. Astral Nomad are probably a little less sludgy and a little more psychedelic than many of those other Polish bands we have reviewed over the years however don't be fooled that their headiness reflects a lack of heaviness, there is gnarliness in abundance to be found on the three tracks that make up their debut EP "Nomad-1"(Interstellar Smoke Records) its just that the gnarliness we speak of is wrapped in a muti-coloured blanket of cosmic swirliness.

Opening number "Deep Bog Boogie" begins withs swathes of swirliness and sampled narrative supported by solid tight drumming and spacious guitar motifs, the songs groove slowly growing in intensity until an explosion of guitar crunchiness, joined by a low toned but powerful vocals, sees the song really get underway. Some bands would be content to hit such a groove and ride that groove through to the end but Astral Nomad are not such a band and the journey they take the listener on here is one with many a diversion, those diversions including lysergic spaciousness, psychedelic bluesiness and doomic dankness. Second track "Dust Haze" finds Astral Nomad sandwiching a playful sing-a-long vocal melody, backed by a heady and laid back psych groove, between two sections of full on fuzzed out and strident hard and heavy rock, the band coming across in those sections like a cross between Motorhead and fellow Polish groovesters Dopelord. Third and final track "The Last Trip" justifies its title by taking you on a journey that is part a tiptoe through the tulips and part a nightmare trek through dense thorny woodlands, an instrumental reflection of a trip that starts out meditative and tranquil but then somewhere along the way takes a left turn into darker territories.

"Nomad-1" feels more like a full length album than an EP and that is because Astral Nomad have packed so much into its three songs, you will not feel cheated or disappointed when this EP finally winds itself to a halt, you will instead feel satisfied, fulfilled and thankful for its existence.

Check it out.... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

WORSHIPPER ~ ONE WAY TRIP ....review

Some consider "classic rock" to be a term for a music linked to a certain time period, and in some respects that is true, but there is also an argument to be made for classic rock to be seen as not just a term but as genre in its own right, a music possessing a sound that is immediately identifiable, much like doom and heavy psych. We at Desert Psychlist are of the belief that classic rock has over the years become a sum of both of these theories, a music that most certainly has it roots in what has gone before but that is now spreading those roots into newer soils, a theory that brings us nicely around to discussing Boston based outfit Worshipper and their new album "One Way Trip"(Magnetic Eye Records)

Worshipper, singer and guitarist John Brookhouse; drummer Dave Jarvis; bass player and backing vocalist Bob Maloney and guitarist Alejandro Necochea, are a bit of an anomaly in that they exist and ply their trade in a scene dominated by heavy riffing doom and stoner bands yet jam a sound that is far more harmonious and melodic. Lilting choruses and ear catching hooks are Worshipper's weapons of choice and they wield them with a dexterity that would make some of rocks mainstream big hitters green with envy, in other words Worshipper's sound comes from a more classic and hard rock place, a place where heaviness stands on an equal footing with melody. Opening track "Heroic Dose" is a prime example of this, the song boasts chugging rhythms and thuggish riffs heavy enough to start a mosh pit yet at the same time is in possession of enough hooks, both musically and vocally, to make a mainstream rock radio stations playlist, For next track "Keep This" Worshipper mix a little blues flavoured country rock into their groove the result of which is a sound that carries a hint of The Drive By Truckers in its execution, which is never a bad thing. We spoke earlier of mainstream rock radio and if there was ever a song that could propel Worshipper into that particular world then it is "Windowpane" a perfectly delivered torch song taken to another level by Brookhouse's wearied almost pleading vocal tones and Necochea's scorching guitar work. "Only Alive" is proof that Worshipper have the chops to stand toe to toe with the hardest of rockers, the songs metallic and crunchy refrains may not be doomic or stonerish but they pack a hefty punch. There is an essence of Thin Lizzy in the dual guitar attack of "Acid Burns" while "James Motel" sees the band toying with aspects of doom and stoner rock albeit twinned with elements of 80's hard rock. Twin guitar harmonies are also at the forefront of next track "The Spell" and Desert Psychlist is reminded here of Jimmy Bain's and Brian Robertson's short-lived band Wild Horses. Worshipper go full on doom for penultimate track "Onward" the band mixing the genres dankness with elements of atmospheric bluesiness over which a suitably mournful vocal is layered. The band finally bring things to a close with "Flashback" a very brief heavy psych instrumental, a song that finishes far earlier than you will want it to.

Worshipper have delivered, with "One Way Trip", an album that possesses the melodic might and songcraft of bands like Foreigner, Bad Company and Thin Lizzy blended with the tough metallic grit of stoner rock, doom and heavy psych. If we are now starting to think of classic rock as less of a term and more of a genre then Desert Psychlist cannot think of a better band than Worshipper to bear its flag.

Check 'em out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

SARAJAH ~ SARAJAH ..... review

The story behind Sarajah is that guitarist J.H. formed the band in order to play music inspired by his heroes Black Sabbath, Trouble and Saint Vitus but that also took its influences from nature and Nordic mythology. J.H. was joined in this venture by Magus Corvus (vocals) and H. Wizzard (drums), who also play in cosmic doom metal band Fimir, and Jeff Pekkilä (bass/guitar). 2023 saw the band enter the studio to record songs for an album the result of which is "Sarajah" (Argonauta Records) the bands self-titled debut.

The song "Sarajah", which shares its name with both the band and the album, arrives with a surge of crunchy bass and guitar riffs, propelled by precise, tight drumming. Although Black Sabbath significantly influenced Sarajah's formation, this opening track surprisingly avoids Sabbathian elements and instead channels a groove that is more Maryland, USA than it is Birmingham, UK., a groove that is taken to another level by the unexpected richness and smoothness of the vocals that decorate it. Following is "Lungs of Smoke," a track that finds Sarajah mourning the end of the "age of man" against a backdrop of chugging proto-doom. Despite its heaviness, the song's attack is somewhat relaxed, a quality that enhances its appeal no end. "Long Riders" sees Sarajah embracing their hard rock and heavy metal origins with catchy vocal melodies serving as the centrepiece for pulsating guitar lines and solid rhythms whereas "Journeys of William Barentsz" darkens the mood with riffs and rhythms that embrace a more traditional doom aesthetic. "Home of Arktos" follows and is a tribute to the boreal forests of the bands Finnish homeland, the song begins with gentle acoustic guitar but this soon gives way to a heavy, lumbering doomic groove over which reverent vocals describe a land of "silence, escape, freedom, peace and solitude". The traditional doomic dynamics of the previous song also spill over into its follow up  "A Year With Us" only this time a little more staggered and jagged. The band returns to chugging proto-doom for "I Am the Soil," the song featuring a more assertive, almost classic heavy metal groove, Corvus' vocals, imploring listeners to "Dive in me, touch moss and bark," are here supported by slightly more robust rhythms and crunchier guitar textures. Lastly we come to "Underworld" a lyrical mix of legend and lore beneath which pummelling percussion and thrumming bass lay the foundation for guitar textures that are a mix of doomic crunchiness and post-metal shimmer, the songs only shortfall being that it is the last track on an album you really will not want to end.

What Sarajah have done with their debut album is to seamlessly blend the sound of British doom with the more stoner orientated doom of the USA while still managing to retain a strong essence of their own Nordic identity in the resulting mix. It is too early call yet, sitting as we do in the middle of 2024, but "Sarajah" could well be one of the best proto/traditional doom albums released this year.

Check it out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

A3ON ~ THEOTOKAS ... review

 

A3ON hail from Leeds, UK and consist of Evelyn Labyrinth (electric guitar, percussion, kopuz); Adonia Hart (organ, electric guitar, vocals); Wilhnhilda Youngblood (bass, qanun); Qabaris Watevior (electric guitar, percussion and Sandalphon (drums, darbuka). The band jam a groove that blends trippy Eastern exotica with Western doom, post-metal and heavy psych. A3ON have released a slew of  mostly instrumental EP's and albums since their formation but as of yet have not quite received the recognition they deserve for their hard work, something that will hopefully change with the release of their sparkling new album "Theotokas".

A3ON kick things off with the heady and exotic "Golgotha," a track featuring Middle Eastern traditional stringed instruments layered over a tribalistic drum groove, further enriched by droning keyboard textures. They then pivot to "Hesychasm," the song a stark contrast to its predecessor, with its riff-driven, heavy, and unmistakably dank and doomic sound. These two tracks alone showcase the breadth of diversity A3ON offers in their latest release. However, it's when the band  fuse those eastern textures and colours with the dank refrains and rhythms of doom and post-metal that things get really interesting with the prime example of this fusion being the deliciously dank but heady "Constantinople". Here we do not only get thrumming dank refrains we also get spiralling call to prayer like vocalisation tied to thunderous rhythms that possess a slightly off centred quality  Whereas doom was the driving force on the previous track "YHVH" sees the bands eastern influences take precedent with laid back guitar textures taking a backseat to their more ancient counterparts. The songs overall feel is exotic and trippy but there is also an undercurrent of darkness in its gait thanks to its backdrop of drone-like keyboard effects. Title track "Theotokas" has an almost stoner-doom vibe going on, its slightly repetitive and slow building groove is driven by sparse drumming that is heavier on the cymbals than it is on the skins, if we have one complaint about this song is that with all that building you would expect the song to finish in a big big finale but instead it just fizzles into silence.. Next song "Bethlehem" comes over like an eastern take on the iconic "Dualling Banjo's" only here backed by crashing drums and hand percussion and instead of being a trade off  between guitar and banjo is played on a kopuz (a Turkish fretless stringed instrument) and a qanan (a zither like instrument from the Middle-East). "St Basil" follows and is another slow building tome only this time with a cinematic feel, a song that would make the perfect soundtrack for a desert themed Hollywood blockbuster as would its follow up the excellent "TheGospelofMary". "Schism" starts off much where the previous song finished only here the groove is spliced with a little more texture and colouring. The album closes its account with "MeditationOnKether" an atmospheric drone heavy instrumental that would probably work better as an intro to a full song rather than the closing piece of a full album, either way it is strangely impressive if a little unsettling

Desert Psychlist has to admit to not being usually on board with drone-like metal dynamics but the way A3ON blend those drones with eastern essences and doomic guitar fuelled dankness is both refreshing and captivating. Admittedly A3ON's approach to their music might not quite be quite everyone's cup of tea but if you like your grooves to be a mixture of world music and western metal then "Theotokas" is an album well worth spending 40+ minutes of your time with.

Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

BLACK CAPRICORN ~ SACRIFICE DARKNESS... AND FIRE ...... review

Balancing work life with music life can be a struggle and it is one Italy's Black Capricorn have learnt to come to terms with over their tenure and they have done this by working gigs/tours and and time spent in studios around the jobs that give them the funds to carry on making the music they love, it is a struggle faced by many bands these days. Thankfully Black Capricorn are a resilient bunch of individuals and the recent announcement of a new album "Sacrifice Darkness... and Fire" (Majestic Mountain Records) is proof of that resilience, the recording of this album may not have been easy given the circumstances but great art is often born out of struggle.

In a short blurb on the bands Bandcamp page for new album "Sacrifice Darkness... and Fire" Desert Psychlist described Black Capricorn as "the more doomic and less scuzzy arm of the Italian acid doom scene" a statement we can quantify here by explaining that although Black Capricorn share many of the same influences that have inspired bands like Sonic Demon, Witchsnake and Demonio their sound is much more traditional in flavour with vocals pushed further forward in the mix and fuzz pedals dialled to a more accessible level of fuzzy. Do not, however, be fooled into thinking Black Capricorn are not heavy, they are, but that heaviness is imbued with an element of swing and melody that many of their contemporaries tend to overlook in favour of  a more filthier and nastier sound. In fact listening to this album while we write Desert Psychlist is struck by how much Black Capricorn's sound has become less Sabbath-esque and more Uncle Acid-ish.  OK opening track "Sacrifice" does have its Sabbathian moments but when you take away the reverberating riffs and thundering drums what you are left with is a lilting melody that without its dank backing might even be considered radio friendly. The same could be said of following song "The moon rises as the immortal" only here we find Rachela Piras (drums); Virginia Piras (bass) and Fabrizio Monni (guitars/vocals) layering a little acidic psych and lysergic bluesiness into the mix with Monni decorating the results with vocal tones that although mournful are nonetheless melodic. "The night they came to take you away" finds Black Capricorn flexing their stoner-doom muscles with  low slow and heavy bass and drums supporting clean lilting vocals and searing bluesy guitar textures. Crunchy hard rock, chugging proto-metal and old school heavy metal are the ingredients that make up the instrumental "Queen Zabo" while for "Another night, another bite" the trio go full on Sabbath, Monni going as far as effecting an Ozzy-like nasal sneer in his vocal delivery. It is back to the low and slow for "Blood of Evil" a mournful doomic yet bluesy tome taken to another level by both Monni's melancholic vocal and his less is more guitar work. Penultimate track "Electric night" is somewhat of a galloping rocker that utilizes a little grunge-like slurriness in its guitar dynamics and brings us nicely around to closing number "A New Day Rising" a song that begins life dank dark and atmospheric but then suddenly morphs into an easy on the ear chugging proto rocker in possession of melodically pleasing vocals, those vocals  intoned over a dank groove driven hard by the rhythmic might of the sisters Piras.

Black Capricorn's "Sacrifice Darkness... and Fire" is an undeniably doomic, unquestionably dank and unashamedly raw opus but at the same time is also a disarmingly melodic album that sits easy on the ears despite all its heaviness. Black Capricorn have released some truly great music over the years but "Sacrifice Darkness...and Fire" might just be their finest moment yet.

Check it out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

OUTER HEAD - COSMIC VIBRATOR ..... review

Outer Head hail from Leeds, UK and apart from being able to tell you that they have two very well received albums under their belts, "Cult of Chaos" (2020) and "Delirium" (2023), there is not a lot else we can tell you about them.  You may have already noticed that we are referring to Outer Head as "them" and as a "band" rather than say a one man project and that is because after perusing their social media Desert Psychlist noticed advertisements for gigs. live clips and also a mention of a change of drummer. The sound this band of shady individuals make together is what we are here for though and that sound is an intriguing blend of chugging proto-doom, heady psych and swirly space rock spliced with elements of hard rock, heavy blues. The band have just released a brand new EP "Cosmic Vibrator" which at the time of writing is exclusive to Bandcamp but hopefully will soon appear on all the available platforms. 

The superbly titled "Prometheus Iscariot" begins like the soundtrack to a space themed movie not yet made, its spinning doomic refrain starts low key and slightly phased, accompanied by wordless singing and parping keyboards, and slowly swells in volume and depth with each circular passage, the song following along this pattern until just over the three minute mark when it is joined by clean vocals, delivered in powerful but slightly detached tones and a plethora of swirling keyboard and guitar textures. Effect laden guitar introduces title track "Cosmic Vibrator" a song that owes a huge debt both vocally and musically to Ladbroke Grove's favourite space lords Hawkwind, the vocalist nailing the slightly clipped innate Englishness that was (and still is) such an important component of Hawkwind's sound, and the band as a whole perfectly capturing the swirliness and grooviness of that era. "Atrahashish" sees Outer Head mixing Hawkwind-esque space with Sleep-like weedianisms to create a groove that is the sum of both worlds, heavy and dank in places, swirly and cosmic in others, thunderous drumming and growly bottom end supporting powerful vocals, whooshing keys and bluesy guitar soloing. "Elyon" brings things to a close, the song again boasts a cinematic feel but but unlike the space/horror vibe that permeated opening number "Prometheus Iscariot" this has more of a desert feel its tribalistic drumming, droning keyboard effects and beautifully delivered flute invoke images of white clad travellers riding caravans of camels across endless sands, however it comes as no surprise when the song takes a more "weedian" direction at its midway mark with things starting to get a little heavy and the song taking on a more OM meets Sleep direction, a direction we suspect not too many will be complaining about.

When you think about it doom, a dank dark music played down-tuned heavy and loud, twinned with psychedelic music, known for its garish colours and floweriness, is a match that on paper should never work but it is one that ultimately does. Outer Head's latest EP "Cosmic Vibrator" is certainly proof that doom and psych can co-exist in the same musical space, and while we are on the subject of space there is plenty of that here too. 

Check it out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

MEIFU ~ HAUNTED DREAMS ..... review

 Florence outfit MEIFU, Mari (vocals); Tommy (guitar); Genia (bass/backing vocals) and Edoardo (drums/backing vocals) have been doing their thing since 2019 and have in their time together shared stages with notable Italian bands like Messa and Carrito, doing this while also plying their trade in other bands such as Lord Elephant, Dragnet, Vij and Sorelle Trapasso. In 2022 MEIFU released the appropriately titled "Demo 2022" a release that featured three very good and quite epic songs that sat squarely in the canon of atmospheric doom, although the demo did not really reach as many ears as the band might have liked it to it did show, to those that heard it, that this was a band with a lot of potential. In 2023 the band went into the studio to record a full album, that album has now been released via Argonauta Records, we at Desert Psychlist like it a lot and we think you will too.

"Haunted Dreams" opens with "Cubensis" an instrumental that boasts slightly dissonant off-kilter guitar motifs supported by grizzled and fuzzy bass and solid tight drumming, the song swells in both power and volume until it reaches a point where you think it cannot possibly go any further and then it does and the place it goes is straight into next song "Third Eye Invocation". Here we get our first taste of Mari's vocals on this album her vocals, an instrument in their own right, are part ethereal and fey part witchy and gritty her voice punching through the miasma of doom Tommy, Genia and Edoardo lay around her like sunshine through a dungeon window, even reverting to wordless banshee like wails in the songs later passages. "Turkish Kraken" follows, a song possessing a dynamic that is constantly switching between low and slow and mid tempo while utilizing middle eastern motifs and themes in both its guitar work and its vocals with Mari's vocals a mixture of witcihiness and spirituality and Tommy's guitar tones spiralling and exotic. Next up is "Steerpike", the song starts life hazy and slightly lysergic with its lyrics imparted in semi-spoken tones but then gradually builds layer by layer with those vocals taking on a much more strident and tuneful dynamic, the songs groove still in possession of a hazy and lysergic undercurrent but thanks to Genia's gritty bass lines and Edoardo's thunderous drumming becoming much more doomic and in your face as things progress. A basement level bass riff anchors next song "Battle of Chapultepec" supported by busy drum patterns over which reverberating doomic guitar crunchiness is applied with a considerably  heavy touch, vocals here are again dominated by Mari  but she gets some help along the way thanks to Genia and Edoardo who accompany her distinctive tones with some sludge like vocal harshness.  Final number "So Magic" sees the band  experimenting with elements of psych and space to great effect, ringing guitar motifs, bone shaking bass lines and tribalistic drumming framing a soaring vocal that again carries an air of dark spirituality in its delivery.

Eastern flavouring, psychedelic serenity and doomic heaviness are the elements MEIFU bring to the table with their debut "Haunted Dreams", a superbly crafted mixture of dank dark crunchiness and swirling exotica fronted by a distinctive array of vocal tones that range from hag-like malevolence to wordless spirituality. 

Check 'em out ... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones