THE NECROMANCERS ~ OF BLOOD AND WINE ....review

The Necromancers, Tom Cornière (Vocals, Guitar), Robin Genais (Lead Guitar), Simon Evariste (Bass Guitar) and Benjamin Rousseau (Drums), loomed out of the ether last year and blew everyone's minds with their debut release "Servants of the Salem Girl" last year, the band and album garnering high praise from all the right quarters as well as just narrowly missing the number one spot in our own "Desert Psychlist's Best of 2017" end of year list. The band return this year with a new album, "Of Blood and Wine"(Ripple Music), hoping to not only to repeat the success of last year's album but to maybe surpass it.

The trouble with having a critically acclaimed debut album is that your next album is going to be put under the microscope and heavily scrutinised by all and sundry looking for weaknesses and failings, was the first album a lucky fluke, will the new material match the high expectations of both the critics and the fans? The answer to those questions is a resounding yes and no, yes they can match those expectations and no the first album was NOT a fluke, the question of whether "Of Blood and Wine" surpasses "Servants of the Salem Girl" however is a difficult one as its a little too early to compare one over the other and only living with an album for a period of time can really decide that question. On first impressions , and at this present time, Desert Psychlist can say that "Of Blood and Wine" is most definitely , if nothing else, on an even par with its predecessor, those post-rock textures and psychedelic/prog undercurrents that made "Servants of the Salem Girl" such a joyous and satisfying  listen are all in still in place and as with their previous release their is a genuine high level of songcraft to be found amid all the growling riffs and incessant rhythms. If there is one thing that sets the new album apart from the old one it is in  the amount of "swing" present on "Of Blood and Wine",  the band, maybe buoyed by the success of their previous outing, seem to have loosened up their sound and found a greater freedom to express themselves, a freedom that although evident on "Servants of the Salem Girl" here is taken to a whole newer level. This looseness and freedom is never better exemplified than on the albums standout track "Erzebeth" a sprawling twelve minute plus opus with a thundering groove that gallops and gambols along on an addictive chugging riff interspersed with Celtic tinted guitar decorated by a mixture of warm crooned and grittily roared vocals, the song taking off into a mind blowing instrumental mid-section before returning to its original groove and coming to its close. The band are not afraid to tread more tranquil waters either as the brief but atmospheric title track " Of Blood and Wine" testifies to, however it is those tracks of a more sludge tinted, prog orientated nature that really win the day here and will ensure listeners coming back to this fine album again and again not only now but also years into the future.

The Necromancers may have suddenly appeared on our radars seemingly out of nowhere but if they keep writing songs as good as those found on "Of Blood and Wine" then these guys are going to be with us for a long time to come.
Check it out …..
© 2018 Frazer Jones

LA CADENA PSYCH JAMBAND ~ HOPE? ...... review

Seville (Spanish: Sevilla) may be the home of the famous bitter oranges that bare the provinces name but there is nothing bitter about the music Sevillian sons La Cadena Psych Jamband deliver with their latest release "Hope?"  Thought you had heard everything that prog and psych could throw in your general direction, well prepare to be amazed by an album that raises the bar even higher.

Prog often gets a lot of bad press, overcomplicated, over technical and over complex are just a few things that get banded around whenever the word prog is mentioned but although a high level of musicianship is required to even be considered as a progressive band that doesn't mean you have to forgo things like feel and swing to play it with conviction. Spain's La Cadena Psych Jamband understand this and incorporate both those things, along with all the necessary musical chops to do so, within their spacy, lysergic grooves. From the Floydian soundscapes of "Going Home?", with its warm Gilmour like guitar tones and oriental flavoured backbeat, through the cosmos exploring rocker "Beyond The Shades", the excellent " Children", with its Gregorian like vocal harmonies and addictive pulsating groove, to the equally Floydian closer "Home" there is not a moment, minute or second where you can second guess where these guys are liable to take you and their music next.

Stunningly beautiful at times, rocking and raucous at others "Hope?" is an album that delivers on its title, giving "hope" to those that believe good, well played intelligent music will always rise to the top and be noticed not only for its technical prowess but also for its emotional impact.
Check it out …..

© 2018 Frazer Jones

BURN RITUAL ~ BLOOD OF THE RAVEN .... review

What was once one is now four, Burn Ritual began life as a one man project of vocalist, guitarist and keyboard operative Jake Lewis and it was as a one man project that Burn Ritual's debut EP " Like Suffering" was recorded and released. Such was the reception to "Like Suffering" that Lewis soon realised if he wanted to see his music breathe outside of a recording studio he better get himself a band together and so in came Brent Standifer (drums), Richard Perez (guitars) and Chris Trezona (bass), the one had become four. The quartet soon started working on new songs Lewis had written and it wasn't long before they had enough material to fill an album, that album is now out in the world and flying under the banner of "Blood of the Raven" (Cursed Monk Records)

A jet black raven, depicted against an alien skyscape, riding thermal updrafts over the Great Pyramids graces the cover of "Blood of the Raven" and is a good indication of the sounds contained within. The album's Sabbathesque desert tinted stoner/hard rock grooves, over which spiritual themes are lyrically explored in mantra like tones, is not exactly new but damn it's effective.. Burn Ritual jam a groove not unlike that of cult Welsh weed worshipers Dope Smoker except for the fact that Burn Ritual are lyrically more wordy and a little less repetitive preferring to pepper their songs with a touch more dynamics and musicality. All of "Blood of the Raven's" seven songs are a masterclass in how to make a lot of very little, the band deviate very little from the main riff of songs like "The Mirror", "Repent" and "Cast Away" but its the way they lift and lower each songs dynamic by throwing in little fills,licks and vocal inflections that maintains the listeners interest and ensures everything sounds fresh and focused. Only once do they step off the groove path and that is with "The Creature Inside of You" a trippy "Planet Caravan" type outing with heavily phased vocals sang over reverberating keyboards and subtle hand percussion.

Burn Ritual's ability to create mesmerising, hypnotic songs that worm their way into the deepest recesses of your psyche is one that works to great effect throughout "Blood of the Raven", the band jamming trippy, trance like heavy psychedelic dirges that capture, captivate and enchant in equal measure 

Check it out ….. 

© 2018 Frazer Jones

CAVALLI ~ HUGANTIC .... review

British underground rock is in a very good place indeed ,what with bands like Desert Storm, Sergeant Thunderhoof and Boss Keloid (among many others) all getting noticed, not only here in the UK but also further afield, it feels almost like another "British Invasion", similar to that of the early 70's, could be beginning to build momentum . Hoping to join the party are Cavalli, a politically aware trio from London's East End dealing in raucous punk tinted stoner/hard rock and metal, a band who have been releasing EP's and turning heads with their live shows since their formation. The band's latest release "Hugantic" is an EP that not only has the grooves to raise their profile in the UK, it also has the songs that could see them joining the ranks of those mentioned earlier in spearheading this new resurgence in British underground rock music both at home and internationally.

"Hugantic" kicks off with "Stronger" a raucous riff fuelled romp that takes no prisoners, its aggressive punkish vocals, roared and growled over a backdrop of unrelenting furiosity, hits the listener with the force of hurricane, a whirlwind of noise that sets the tone for the rest of the EP and tells you in just over three minutes more about this band than Desert Psychlist could tell you in three paragraphs. "Super Anal Man" follows, a song that rails against the abuse of privilege and boasts the immortal lines "You wasted all your life thinking that you were Superman, everything sorted out by mum, spending daddy´s cash on drugs" sang over a groove that nods towards both the 90s desert rock scene of California's Palm Desert and the British punk scene of the mid to late 70's. Next up is "Holy Communion" , a furious  lyrical tirade against religion accompanied by a deliciously addictive guitar motif, reminiscent of something you might find on an early Cult album, driven by growling bass and insistent, solid drumming. Next track "No Borders" voices a thinly veiled ant-Brexit message around a groove that is a little  heavier, sludgier and more metallic than what has passed previously while "Flat Earth" pokes a stick at the narrow minded and blinkered over a furiously paced sonic onslaught flecked with bluesy guitar colourings.

Social commentary pitched against a soundtrack of punkish ferocity and dank metallic sludginess in a scene known for its songs about weed, wizards and witchcraft might be a bridge too far for some but for those of you with an open mind and a social consciousness Cavalli might just be the band you have been searching for
Check 'em out …..

© 2018 Frazer Jones

KAPITAN BONGO ~ ODMȨT ........ review

If Desert Psychlist were to throw you the words "sludgy, prog tinted and metallic" and then ask you a country where you might expect these elements to be found then Poland would possibly come high on your list of suggestions. Poland is fast becoming the go to country for those looking for music of a grainier, grittier and heavier nature and Warszawa four piece Kapitan Bongo's latest release "Odmȩt" is a prime example of why music from  Poland's underground rock scene is currently being held in such high esteem.

With a line up that, along with the usual vocals, guitar, bass and drums, includes the use of synths and West African percussion you might expect Kapitan Bongo's sound to be a little experimental and "out there" and although there are moments when things get a little post-rock and ambient the main body of Kapitan Bongo's groove resides very much at the heavier, sludgier end of progressive metal. Those elements of ambience and post-rock texturing although integral to Kapitan Bongo's overall sound are not always obvious or immediately evident, however. First track "Od mȩt" begins with screeching feedback and synthesised squeaks and swirls before erupting into a grinding heavy mid tempo groove driven by crashing percussion and growling bass around which the guitar lays a mixture of complex chord structures and crunching riffage that, combined with the songs slightly screamo vocal, comes over as technically dazzling yet at the same time vocally disarming. Those screamo vocals are tamped down a notch or two for next track "Klątwa mamuta" and replaced with easier on the ear gruff growling dual harmonies sang over a backdrop of undulating yet still heavy groove that brutalises and soothes in equal measure. "Bezdech" follows and finds Kapitan Bongo in more laid back, considerate mood, clean, mellow yet gritty vocals vying for space with blues tinted guitar motifs and swirling synth/keyboard effects over a foundation of liquid bass lines and shimmering percussion. "Bagno" sees the band mixing post metal textures with those of a more dank doomic nature in a song that never sits still long enough to pin a tag on before finally bringing things to a close with the excellent riff heavy "Czas" a song with a groove so gloriously deep and deliciously dense it almost defies description.

Crushing and complex, considerate and crunching "Odmȩt" delivers everything you could possibly need from a modern underground rock/metal album and more

Check it out ….. 

© 2018 Frazer Jones

ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE ~ LIVE IN BERLIN 2018 ....review

Øresund Space Collective have been making albums and touring their improvised space rock/ heavy psych grooves since 2006, the band an ever changing collection of musicians from across Europe and the United States have to date released twenty nine albums. Strangely, given Desert Psychlist's love for lysergic tinted grooves of a more out there nature and the fact that we own or have heard a good few of those albums, this in the moment  recording, "Live In Berlin 2018", is the first of their releases we have reviewed.

Those familiar with ØSC will already know to expect music that could go in any direction at anytime, a music with a liquid like structure that, like the water running down Jeff Goldblum;s hand when trying to explain Chaos Theory in the first Jurassic Park movie, finds its own path regardless of its original source or expected outcome. Those coming to ØSC for the first time may find the prospect of improvised music that is reliant on the whims and moods of the musicians involved a little daunting and overwhelming but fear not you ØSC virgins as although this collective regularly reach out and touch the outer edges of musical form and structure they never linger there long, dragged back as much by their need to lock into a groove as their need to explore and experiment.

If your already a fan of ØSC then "Live In Berlin 2018" will reaffirm your reasons for loving what these guys do, if your a newbie to the band then this is as good an album as any to start your love affair.
Check it out ….

© 2018 Frazer Jones

WITCHCULT ~ BEWITCHED FOREST ..... review

The name Siberia, to those brought up on cold war stories and historic novels, conjures up images of extreme cold and long hard winters so music from a band hailing from that province might be expected to reflect a certain iciness in their music, wrong! Witchcult, Elena Cherepanova (vocals), Stanislav 'Brudywr' Ambartsumov (guitars), Anton Ryazantsev (bass) and Alexander Dvornikov (drums), hail from Inkutsk, Russia ,on the more temperate edges of Siberia, and their music although imbued with a certain doomic dankness also contains a warmth and charm that belies its place of origins chilly reputation, something their debut album "Bewitched Forest" is more than testament to.

That Witchcult arrive with a list of influences that not only includes the obligatory Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard but also that of the more psychedelic Allah Las and Holy Wave sort of tells its own story. Witchcult are a band whose grooves are as heady as they are heavy, an amalgamation of lysergic trippiness and bluesy swagger blended with a crunching dank core that sonically sits on the more doomic side of what we now call occult rock/metal. That dank core, provided by Ambartsumov's mix of crunching riffage and bluesy Iommic solo's, Ryazantsev's grizzled bass lines and Dvornikov's solid, tight percussion, is the heartbeat driving songs with titles like "Too Dead", "Witch's Potion" and "Amphibian Dawn", a heartbeat offset by Cherepanova's distinctive low key but effective vocals, the singer eschewing the usual ethereal tones associated with music of a doom/occult nature for a deeper, huskier delivery that is part singing, part intoned narrative.

Witchcult, with "Bewitched Forest" straddle the fence dividing doom from its more occult cousin, feet dangling tantalising either side, not quite one or the other yet a little of both.
Check 'em out …..

© 2018 Frazer Jones