PARALYZED ~ PARALYZED ..... review

Cream, Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac all made their names by taking the blues, which was a musical art form that at that time was largely being ignored in its country of origin, and amplifying it to ear-shattering levels. These British bands then proceeded to sell this new heavier version of the blues back to its homeland and in doing so spearheaded what some started to call the "second British invasion of America". The heavy blues grooves these bands employed eventually morphed into what became heavy metal, and all the sub-genres that have branched off from heavy metal, but for a short while in musical history the blues was king. Those heavy blues have not quite disappeared, most of today's bands will at sometime in their careers have dabbled with a few blues flecked torch songs, but it is getting increasingly rare for a band to release an album totally drenched in the stuff. Cue Paralyzed a band, hailing from Bamberg Germany who may incorporate elements of doom and stoner rock into their sound but are, at their heart, old school heavy bluesers, something their first full length self-titled debut "Paralyzed" will more than attest to.

Those of us of a certain age who grew up listening to the rock music of the late sixties and early to mid 70's will always approach new music with one ear attuned to the past, we just can't help but make comparisons to the big hitters of that era simply because that music has almost become ingrained in our DNA. If you see yourself mirrored in that last statement then Paralyzed's self-titled debut is going to be like manna from heaven for not only you but also those that absorbed those 60's/70's grooves from their older siblings, or in some cases their parents. Paralyzed, Michael Binder (guitar and vocals), Caterina Böhner (guitar), Philipp Engelbrecht (bass) and Florian Thiele (drums), truly understand what made the music of the seventies tick and totally get the part the blues played in that sound, the band have with "Paralyzed" captured the essence of a bygone age but at the same time they have also not ignored the progressions that rock music has undertaken since. The songs that populate "Paralyzed" are big, ballsy, soulful and drenched in oodles of vintage fuzz and distortion then decorated in vocal tones that fall somewhere between those of Glenn Danzig and Jim Morrison, tones that have a lived in smoky weariness that are the perfect fit for the crunchy, soulful blues rock they are surrounded with. From opening instrumental "Paralyzed" through the Doors-like "Prophets", the eyebrow raising and totally un-PC "This Woman" to the wonderfully schizophrenic closer "Parallel" this is an album that is all killer and no filler!

Forget those Led Zeppelin wannabees Greta Van Fleet, and any of those other pale imitations that have routinely popped up over the years because Paralyzed are the real deal, an authentic sounding heavy blues outfit with genuine belief in what they do.

Check 'em out ..... 

© 2021 Frazer Jones