Tuesday 27 September 2016

SAMBA CEMETERY ~ THE BUSHGATE ...review


Samba Cemetery... sounds like the final resting place for South American dancers but is in fact the name of a German trio, from the city of Berlin, specialising in incendiary hard edged stoner/desert rock. The band , consisting of, Ruben Leon (vocals, guitar), Lukas Weber (drums), David Gi (bass), have just released their debut ,self titled EP "Samba Cemetery" via Bandcamp.


Title track "The Bushgate" feels more like an intro than a fully fledged song, it main body being an abstract montage of droning noise, shimmering percussion and guitar effect trickery before a thrash-like driving riff takes things to a close. Things start looking a little more straight forward with next track "Blast Of The Rex" its furious groove built around a stuttering guitar and bass riff taken to another level by Lukas Weber's outstanding drum work, the percussionist bringing a touch of South American swing to the table with his deft use of Latin influenced rhythmic fills. Over these grooves of furiosity Ruben Leon applies the finishing touches, his strong gravel toned vocals shading the grooves with a gritty vocal covering. Third track "Rolling" opens with  lysergic tinted guitar arpeggios accompanied by glistening percussion, liquid bass and mellow vocals before erupting into a gnarly mid-paced stoner rock groove embellished with touches of psychedelic texture. Next up is "Help Me Breathe", another mid-paced rocker, that begins with Weber pounding out a glorious tribal drum pattern before Leon's guitar comes in followed by David Gi's massive bass line, the two falling into a delicious rolling stoner/desert groove driven by Weber's exceptional rhythmic pulses and graced with catchy lyrical hooks. "Last Samba" closes the EP and sees Samba Cemetery giving the listener a glimpse of their softer, mellower, funky side. In keeping with its title the song starts its journey with a hazy Latin beat flecked with touches of jazzy colouring that sees Gi's bass and Weber's drums combining to create a delicious pulse of Latin groove around Leon's mellow but throaty vocal. As the song progresses into its last quarter the band move into a harder rock groove with Leon''s soaring guitar solo's exhibiting touches of Carlos Santana-esque tonal texturing before the whole groove finishes in a cacophony of sustained droning guitar noise.
If you liked what Santana did for rock music back in the late 60's, early 70's, bringing Latin grooves into an arena dominated by blues based heavy rock then you might like Samba Cemetery, a band bringing those same grooves into an "underground" scene dominated by fuzz and distortion.
Check 'em out .....

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