BLOOD LEMON ~ PETITE DEATHS ... review

Blood Lemon's 2021 debut, the self-titled "Blood Lemon", garnered many plaudits on its release so its a little surprising that the buzz around the trio, Lisa Simpson (guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar, synth, piano); Melanie Radford (bass, vocals, upright bass, synth, piano) and Lindsey Lloyd (drums, percussion, vocals), has frankly not been deafening. Some might suggest that the bands music being tagged with the far too easy Indie/Riot Grrrl label (in some quarters) has hindered them somewhat and has seen comparisons being made with the likes of Sleater-Kinney, L7 and Hole while in truth their music has a more shoegaze(ish) alt.metal vibe albeit one coated in Warpaint meets Grandma's Ashes-like lilting vocal melodies. 2025 sees Blood Lemon kicking off the new year with with a new release, "Petite Deaths",  a five song opus that will hopefully see the bands profile soar to the heights it deserves to reach.

"Petite Death" begins its tenure with "High Tide" the songs chugging/stuttering guitar refrain supported by solid tight punchy drumming and low and deliciously bouncy bass. All good so far but the clincher comes when the vocals kick in, warm smooth and tender lead and lilting backing harmonies spiralling and circling around each other to bring a feeling of otherworldliness and fragility to the proceedings. With all their talk of  "a love of heavy riffs" Blood Lemon are actually not that particularly heavy yes they can groove around a crunching down tuned riff with the best of them but their heaviness comes more from the atmospherics and moods they create with their music rather than the dankness of their riffs as is exemplified on next track "Her Shadow", a song that shimmers rather than shakes and sees fractured chord voicings, backed by liquid bass and tribalistic flavoured drumming, supporting a smooth heartfelt yet powerful vocal before morphing into a swirling acid/heavy psych workout in its final quarter. Next up is "Mountain'r Lower" here we do find Blood Lemon getting their sludge/stoner groove on but only briefly, the songs fuzzed out guitar refrains routinely making way for a more mellow and languid musical attack enhanced once again by those wonderfully smooth lead vocals and swooning backing harmonies. A deliciously deep bass line introduces "Perfect Too" accompanied by a guitar refrain that could be considered Sabbath-esque if it were not for its sedate and laid back nature, the vocals and harmonies here are sublime and especially effective when that riff falls away and we are left with just a lone voice and that deliciously seductive bass motif, however this is a song made up of two parts with that second part suggesting that this trio may well have been taking a deep listen to another songs second half, that other second half being Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain". Things finally come to a close with "Mudlark" a rueful, emotive and frankly quite beautiful lament/ballad bolstered by unbusy but effective rhythms and featuring a vocal in possession of a soulful breathiness.

  There is a smouldering element to the grooves found on "Petite Deaths" that leaves the listener on the edge of  his/her/their seats anticipating explosions that intentionally never materialise, the band cleverly pulling back from the brink of those expected explosions to build up tension and anticipation over and over again. We are often presented with bands who blend doom with prog, stoner with grunge, sludge with southern rock but not many who mix elements of the heavy underground with elements of indie rock and shoegaze, we've got one now! 

Check 'em out ....

© 2025 Frazer Jones

MIND WOLF ~ CHALET ... review

Grunge, or alternative rock, emerged in the mid-eighties and proceeded to blow away everything in its path but like so many of the musical movements before it grunge soon became diluted thanks mainly to record labels signing up every band or solo-artist with a hooped pullover and a drug habit, regardless of their talent. Some of the scenes bigger bands did survive, and still continue to make important music, but many fell by the wayside or altered their sound to accommodate shifting tastes. Grunge/alt.rock's core sound never fully went away though and it can still be found raising its unkempt head in todays underground rock most notably in the present days stoner, doom and psych scenes with bands like Desert Suns, Sea of Snakes, Erronaut and Bird of Vale all incorporating elements of that "Seattle sound" into their music Another to add to that list are Belgium's Mind Wolf, Jan (guitar/vocals), Sam (drums) and Arne (bass), a Ghent based trio who take their influences as much from Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots as they do bands like Kyuss, Hermano and Greenleaf  and who have just released their second EP "Chalet". 

Opening number "Love Without a Home" begins its life jamming an Alice In Chains like slurred guitar refrain, using that refrain as a marker to return to between bouts of blues tinted hard rock that is driven by solid on point drumming and anchored by growling fuzz drenched bass. Vocals here are not especially powerful but are delivered with a breathy gusto that is both distinctive and effective as is the guitar work which is served up deeply fuzzed and crunchy. Next song "Like a Song" is a swaggering mix of punkish aggression and  blustering stoner/hard rock over which a ridiculously catchy dual vocal melody holds sway, one can imagine this becoming a firm fan favourite in a live environment. "Hanne Desmet"  is up next and here we find Mind Wolf blending their grunge and stoner with elements of heavy psych beneath another excellent ear-worm of a vocal melody while "Just Don't" is a wonderfully jagged and sleazy sounding tome with a vocal that is a mix of gritty melody, tuneful narration and snotty asides and utilises a delightfully manic and off-kilter guitar solo as its exit strategy. Last song "Seduction" jettisons the grunge element of the bands sound and opts for a more heavy rock attack, busy tight drumming, low growling bass and heavily distorted guitar supporting vocals that swing between hushed huskiness and angsty grittiness, the song then taken to its close on a wave of soaring, if somewhat dirty, lead guitar work.

The songs inhabiting Mind Wolf's "Chalet" are short sharp jabs that hit hard and are then gone, there is no overplaying to be found on this little dark gem of a release, no endless noodling just for the sake of it, what we get instead is a band delivering maximum impact in minimum time frames.

Check 'em out ... 

 

© 2025 Frazer Jones

ZOAHR ~ MOSAIC ... review

The beautiful thing about this thing we call the "underground rock scene" is that it these days it is so international, before the internet our music collections would, with a few exceptions, be dominated by albums by British and North American bands and artists. The coming of "the web" has changed all that and the collections of those of us worshipping at the altar of the riff are as likely to contain albums from Santiago, Chile as they are Portland, USA. It is also somewhat weird that countries across the world seem to each have their moments in the spotlight, a while ago it was Sweden that was churning out one great band after another then all of a sudden their was a surge of great music from Poland which was then followed by an explosion of creativity from Greece. As we write it is recommendations for music from the German underground that is filling Desert Psychlist's inbox and the one that has grabbed our attention the most is "Mosaic" the third album from Pirmasens based outfit ZOAHR, Thorsten (bass); Philipp (drums) and Jessie (guitar/vocals), a trio with a penchant for playing their blues heavy and their psych heavier.

Things kick off really nicely with "Endurance Race" and let us tell you right from the off that this song is not an endurance it is an utter pleasure, its Chris Squire (YES) like bass motifs, punchy insistent drumming and soaring psychedelic guitar textures, accompanied by clean airy vocals, combine to create a noise so uplifting it could be sold as a tonic for depression. ZOAHR get down furious and funky for next song "Zephyr", an up-tempo romp built upon a bedrock of truly impressive drumming and that also boasts both seriously good guitar work and a great Spirit/Randy California-like vocal melody. Things take an easy on the ear turn with the slowly evolving and bluesy lament "Garden of Grief" the songs use of ascending/descending guitar motifs aligned to wearied lead and lilting harmonies proving especially effective. For "Prism" ZOAHR blend accessible classic rock melodies and grooves with touches of stoner like fuzziness while for "Cornered" and the following "Erosive" the band retain that radio friendly element but this time swap out the stoner fuzziness for some distorted heavy blues swagger. There is an old school heavy metal feel to parts of  both "Idiots and Statues" and its follow up "Red Tide" but its old school metal given a funky, heavy psych makeover. Final track "Wayward Blues" delivers exactly what its title promises it will, this a blues lament/torch song drenched in psychedelic textures and colours and like all that has gone before it boasts powerful performances from all involved.

"Accessible" seems to be a dirty word in underground rock circles but accessible in musical terms only really means music that will appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners and ZOAHR's "Mosaic" does just that, the fact that it does so without compromising on things like heaviness, groove and musicality is something that should be applauded. There are only two types of music.. good music and bad music and this album is the good stuff!

Check it out ... 

© 2025 Frazer Jones

ULTRA DEATH CULT ~ END TIMES ARE GOOD TIMES ... review

 

What can we tell you about Ultra Death Cult? Well the truth is not really a lot as their social media presence is at best sketchy, the bands Bandcamp page is not much better with their page header photo showing three members but their liner notes only mentioning two, Chris Taylor (vocals/guitar/bass) and Chad Huntington (drums). What we can tell you though is that whether consisting of two or three members Ultra Death Cult make a seriously impressive noise, as you will no doubt find out for yourselves when giving their debut EP "End Times Are Good Times " a spin

The bad news is that "End Times Are Good Times" consists of just three songs, the good news is that those three tracks are better than some bands full albums. Opening track "All Eyes On Our Blight" is a prime example of why in some cases less can actually equate to more, this is a song that evolves from drone like origins then shifts up a gear into a thrumming proto-doom groove replete with all the thundering rhythms and dark refrains necessary to turn the heads of even the most discerning of underground rock fans. Vocals here are delivered clean and powerful and are edged with a world weary gravitas that, despite the doomic nature of the music supporting them, borders on grungy at times, which is never a bad thing in our book. "Long Time" follows its coming of age like lyrical content supported by a deliciously dank but not quite doomic groove that at its centre briefly dips its toes into ambient and psychedelic waters. Last song "Not For Nothing" finds Ultra Death Cult getting a sludge/hardcore groove on with stuttering, slurring Down- like riffage and tumultuous percussion framing an angry ranting vocal that at times almost wanders into rap-like territories. 

Down tuned dank, dark and delicious is the best way to describe the music Ultra Death Cult bring to the party with their debut EP "End Times Are Good Times", the EP may contain just three songs but oh man you are not going to forget these three songs in a hurry. 

Check it out ....

© 2025 Frazer Jones

EYE OF AQUILA ~ ATAVISMS ...review

Eye of Aquila, Matt Snyder (vocals); Nicole Ridge (guitars); Joe Neves (drums) and Bruce Fowler (bass), are the third Californian band in the last two months to have earned themselves a Desert Psychlist review and are the third in that period to blend into their core sound of doom, heavy psych and stonerized metal elements of grunge and alt-metal. Desert Psychlist does not know if, due to some undiscovered underground tributaries, water from Seattle has been finding its way into California's drinking fountains but something must be causing these bands to take their music into these grungier territories. Of those three releases treading grungier waters, the other two being from Sea of Snakes and Desert Suns, it is probably Eye of Aquila's "Atavisms" that is the one that sails closest to that early 90's Seattle sound of down tuned riff'n'roll allied to world weary and slightly cynical lyrical content. Having said that Eye of Aquila are not a band trying to re-create an era, these guys infuse into their grooves aspects and elements from not just 90's alternative metal but also from the present days stoner, doom and psych scene in order to create a sound that although somewhat familiar is nonetheless fresh and different.  

Opening number "Nova Sun" kicks things off with circular guitar motifs spiralling down to become chugging refrains over a dynamically undulating backdrop of low grizzled bass and busy tight percussion around which a well written and seriously well sung lyric imparts prophetic, often cryptic, wisdom that tells of "cyclical diversions" and "heretical inversions" in tones clean, clear and powerful.  "White Gladis" follows and flits back and forth between thrumming doomic riffage and chaotic edged alt-metal bluster bolstered by a vocal that is part an angsty rant and part a Rage Against The Machine type rap. Title track "Atavisms" mixes grunge tinted stoner metal with elements of thrash, psych and even Tool-like complexity around a vocal that in itself is very similar in tone and delivery to that of  Tool's Maynard James Keenan, the song also possesses what could well be Desert Psychlist's contender for 2024's lyric of the year with "hemotoxic parasexual, aspirating ineffectual, logic pedant fallen god, fallow feral hypnagog", a sublime piece of wordplay. Final number "Blackened Goat God" is, apart from possessing a title at least one band are going to steal for their own, a slow burning atmospheric tome that builds from laid back and languid origins to become an almost traditional metal style torch song in its later stages with all involved in its construction bringing their "A" game to the table, the song serving as a fittingly anthemic finale to a damn fine EP.

Lyrically intelligent and musically as tight as a misers purse Eye Of Aquila's "Atavisms" is high quality from it first note to it last, a superb blending of  alternative metal, stonerized heavy rock and psychedelic doom that despite its late December release has to be considered for being one of the best EP releases of 2024.

Check it out .....  

© 2024 Frazer Jones

HEXENBANE ~ DIABLO'S PRISON ... review

Doom and goth rock (especially the British variant) have a lot in common musically, both genres rely heavily on their atmospherics and both possess a mournful, almost melancholic, quality which is why it seems strange to Desert Psychlist that there are not more bands out there in the world exploring some sort of middle ground between the two. Well one band who are exploring that ground, as well as some others, are Canada's Hexenbane, Starla Nostraius (vocals); Cody Bobier (guitar), Alex Beaudoin (bass) and Tanner Hartmann (drums), a combo hailing from Nanaimo, British Columbia with a sound influenced not just by the aforementioned genres of goth and doom  but also proto-metal, post punk and sludge, a sound they have dubbed "music for the damned" If you are one of those feeling particularly damned and if you are looking for a music that reflects that state of mind then you cannot go far wrong by lending an ear to the bands debut release "Diablo's Prison", 

Hexenbane kick off their account with title track "Diablo's Prison", the song starts atmospheric and moody with mellow guitar textures ringing out over low rumbling bass and restrained drumming joined by a breathy low key and utterly seductive vocal. You would not find many complaining if the song continued to its conclusion in this manner but a piercing guitar note sees the band moving the songs groove into more turbulent waters, Nostraius' vocal becoming more insistent and powerful over a backdrop of groove that gradually evolves from bluesy and torch-like to proto-metallic and strident before finally signing out the way it came in, laid back and hazy. Second number "Everything is Bad" sees Hexenbane getting their psych/doom groove on, albeit psych/doom decorated in vocals possessing distinctive dark and husky goth-like tones, while next track "Stick and Stones" is, for us at Desert Psychlist, the standout track of this release, we have no doubt that had this been released as a single in the heyday of the goth movement it would be gracing the playlists, mixtapes and turntables of every pasty faced eyeliner wearing black clad goth on the planet, it has everything, a killer vocal melody, a big chorus, unexpected changes in signature and tempo and a even a drum solo. Why Hexenbane decided to include "The Dirge" on this release is something you will have to ask the band about, the track is more a sound piece than an actual song and for us serves no purpose other than allowing a moment of respite before the gnarly "Resurrection of Evil" invades your headspace, a song that sees Hexenbane adding extreme metal to their curriculum vitae with heavily filtered clean vocals and barely recognisable as human harshness sharing space over a maelstrom of groove that begins and ends in proto doomic territories but in between occupies some sort of deliciously hellish middle ground between metal of a death and black persuasion. 

Hexenbane's "Diablo's Prison" is a superb debut release, its first three songs are by far some of the best examples of the bringing together of doom, goth, occult and heavy psych you will find released this year, while its remaining two songs point to a band unafraid to mix things up and take chances. 

Check it out ...  

© 2024 Frazer Jones

DESERT SUNS ~ EDGE OF THE SKY .... review

Blending stoner/desert rock with blues, psych and alt-metal is not something new, there are a million and one bands out there doing much the same thing, many who have graced Desert Psychlist's pages, but to blend those elements without one gaining total dominance over the other is somewhat of a feat. California's Desert Suns, Ben McDowell (drums); A.J.Belluto (guitar); Lucas Fisher (guitar); Gabe Fonseca (bass) and Jason Busiek (vocals), are a band who have that balance almost down to a fine art. Of course it has not always been that way, it takes time to polish coal into a diamond, but with a few line-up changes along the way the band have arrived at a sound that really allows them to sparkle in a way we, who have been following their progress, always knew they could. and that sparkle is something that can be found shining through each and every track of the bands latest release "Edge of the Sky"(Glory or Death Records).

"Edge of the Sky" begins its account with "Sweet Sorrow" a song that along with all the usual aspects Desert Suns bring to the table with their music also includes an element of proggish complexity, Fisher and Belluto trading convoluted chord progressions, ear pleasing twin motifs and swirling solos over a backdrop of ever-shifting groove expertly supplied by the bass and drums of Fonseca and McDowell. What we are talking about when saying "ever-shifting" are the songs seamless transitions between passages of up-tempo driving stoner/hard rock, dank doominosity and serpentine prog and psych. Some of you out there will already know Busiek from his vocal work with his other band  the excellent Sea of Snakes and his vocals here are no less impressive, his strong powerful tones bringing an air of soulful weariness to all they touch. "Luck of the Draw" follows and jams a groove that is for its most part a little more straightforward and rocking than its predecessor though that does not mean it does not have its moments one of which is when the guitars face off in a duelling match reminiscent of those days when the guitarists in bands like Thin Lizzy, UFO and Lynyrd Skynyrd would just let rip and push each other to go that extra mile. There is a laid back and bluesy feel to next song "Real Eyes" but its a bluesy feel tinted with a touch of grunginess, a grunginess that does not come from its instrumental attack, which remains bluesy throughout, but from Busiek's vocal which carries just a hint of the late Layne Staley's (Alice In Chains) pained grittiness in its tones. The Alice In Chains feel of the previous tracks leeches into next track "Daisy Chain" but this time with Fisher, Belluto, Fonseca and McDowell matching Busiek's grunge like vocal delivery with a groove that is far more rainy Seattle than it is sunny California. Desert Suns bring a bottle of haziness and a carafe of fuzz to the party for final number "Fata Morgana" a song that begins life hazy and languid around an understated crooned vocal but then suddenly erupts into a groove that has desert party written large all over it, especially in its final quarter when things get a little more "out there" and improvised with the drums and bass acting as an anchor for swirling double guitar pyrotechnics.

It could be argued that any band with "desert" in their name are likely to jam a sound that reflects the use of that word.. and Desert Suns are no exception. The band have always had that expansive psych/desert element in their locker, however the introduction of Lucas Fisher and Jason Busiek to the bands ranks has brought to the table elements of alt-metal, acid rock and prog that although may have been present on previous albums are on "Edge of the Sky" much more prominent and defined, all of which has resulted in the bands sound becoming so much more rounded and immersive. 

Check it out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones