If Inche Kai Che's "Transmutación" was a jewel it would be a radiant cut diamond, bright and shining with many facets, if it were a food it would be Ambrosia, divine and spiritually uplifting. It is however merely a collection of songs on an album....but what a magnificent collection of songs and what a stunning album it is.
Monday 21 October 2024
INCHE KAI CHE ~ TRANSMUTACIÓN ....review
If Inche Kai Che's "Transmutación" was a jewel it would be a radiant cut diamond, bright and shining with many facets, if it were a food it would be Ambrosia, divine and spiritually uplifting. It is however merely a collection of songs on an album....but what a magnificent collection of songs and what a stunning album it is.
Sunday 20 October 2024
ODA ~ BLOODSTAINED ..... review
𝖔𝖉𝖆's debut release may not be the sort of album that will have doom's traditionalists slavering at the mouth but for those of us who like to see an element of risk taking and disconformity in our doom then you could not ask for a better collection of songs than those gracing "Bloodstained".
Wednesday 16 October 2024
SANTA PLANTA ~ FROM THE TRAILS OF DESIRE .... review
"Seeds" kicks off Santa Planta's debut with eerie keyboards parping doomily over minimal percussion and behind low basement level bass before being joined by crunchy guitar textures over which dual vocals deliver a ritual flavoured chant, the song lasts just under three minutes but it serves its purpose by setting the tone for all that is to follow, "Santa Planta", the song that gives the band their name, is next, the song boasts a deliciously seductive lysergic feel in its early stages but then soon evolves into a low slow stoner-doomic dirge with the vocals following a similar trajectory, hazy and melodic initially but moving up to an impassioned clean wail as the song progresses. "Acid Conclave" rears its head next and here we find Santa Planta melding orchestral like keyboard flourishes with dank dark doomic riffage supported by sparse but thunderous drumming over which soaring and confidently sung lyrics tell a tale of pyramids and priestesses. If you are not convinced yet about Santa Planta's psychedelic credentials then next song "The Dance (Interlude)" should swing the deal, its heady yet restrained drum and bass groove is further enhanced by liquid like guitar textures and sampled narration discussing the physical and spiritual aspects of dancing, its trippy. left of centre and strangely beautiful. Penultimate number "Waves" finds Santa Planta getting their Colour Haze groove on, the song a sprawling opus with an undulating rhythmic quality, much in keeping with its title, that is overlaid with fractured chord voicings and shimmering lead work, it's accompanying vocals a mix of wordless wails and soulful croons. Having mesmerised us with their lilting psych the band now go for the throat with "Ten Thousand Year Plan" a grainy and fuzz drenched, bass heavy riff monster augmented by swirling keyboards that is only just anchored to ground zero by solid tight industrious drumming, vocals here clean angsty and at times gloriously manic.
Monday 14 October 2024
PLANET OF ZEUS ~ AFTERLIFE ... review
If you have had the privilege of ever seeing Greece's Planet Of Zeus play live you will already know that they are a real force to be reckoned with, the band have been no slouches in the studio either, the bands first three albums, "Eleven The Hard Way", "Macho Libre" and "Vigilante", are considered by many to be classics in their field, that field being heavy stoner metal and swaggering no quarter given hard rock. Now it would have been easy for Planet Of Zeus to follow up those three well received releases mentioned with an album that followed much the same musical formula but instead they gave us "Loyal To The Pack" an album that saw the band not quite jettisoning the raucousness of their previous sound but blending into that raucousness elements that were a little more subtle and restrained in order to create a sound that was a touch more rounded and accessible. 2018 saw Planet Of Zeus release "Live In Athens" a sprawling no holds barred eighteen song document of the bands appearance at Gagarin205, one of Athens's most historic live music venues, a true and honest representation of the bands unbridled power as a live concern. The bands next studio album, "Faith in Physics", saw Planet Of Zeus returning to the swaggering caustic sound of their first three albums while also getting a little political lyrically, musically still utilizing aspects of that restraint, subtlety and accessibility explored on "Loyal to the Pack" but twinning those aspects with much more in your face dynamics. History lesson over, the band have just released "Afterlife"(Ihaveadrum Records) their sixth studio album, will we get the caustic and raucous version of Planet Of Zeus that adorned those first three albums, will we get the more mature sound of the band a la "Loyal to the Pack" or will we get a blend of the two as with "Faith In Physics"....let's find out.
"Afterlife" kicks off with "Preview Of An Afterlife" a brief but interesting effect laden synthesised mood piece, that is quickly followed up by "Baptized In His Death" a groove heavy stoner/hard rock workout boasting an ear catching vocal melody framed by recurring guitar motifs underpinned by solid busy drumming, crunchy rhythm guitar and bouncy low bass, the songs cryptic lyrics loosely dealing with concepts of belief and faith. It's on to "Step On, Skin Off" next a stoner punk(ish) romp that sees guitarist/vocalist Babis Papanikolaou reverting to the caustic throat tearing hardcore tones we have come to love him for, admittedly not quite as deep and guttural as they once were but still wholly effective. "No Ordinary Life" has all the makings of of one of those great POZ live tunes that routinely sees fans going completely apeshit at their shows, the songs breakdown at the three quarter mark, before it re explodes for its caustic finale, may be old hat but boy does it work. For their next song, "The Song You Misunderstand", POZ add a splash of restrained bluesy southern rock colouring to their palette, a splash picked up by guitarist Selios Provis in his solo which is swirling and tasteful and perfectly supported by bassist Giannis Vrazos and drummer Serafeim Giannakopoulos' complimentary groove. "Let's Call It Even" has a Foo Fighter's feel about it, albeit the Foo Fighter's from an alternative universe while "Bad Milk" boasts a jerky off-piste alt-reggae-ish vibe. POZ go full on old school stoner for "Letter To A Newborn" but then dive headlong into a pool of alt-metal grunginess for the excellent "The Vixen". Having toyed with stoner, blues, southern rock, punk and off centred grunge/alt-metal POZ set their sights on doom for final number "State Of Non-Existence", only this is not by the numbers doom, this is a bluesy acid drenched version of doom offset with swirling torch-like dynamics, a big and beautiful curtain closer on what is yet another superb Planet of Zeus album.
© 2024 Frazer Jones
Wednesday 9 October 2024
DEMONIO ~ ACID RAIN .... review
Monday 7 October 2024
VALLEY OF THE SLUTS ~ RISE OF THE SLUT ..... review
Sunday 6 October 2024
HIGH REEPER ~ RENEWED BY DEATH .... review
Wednesday 2 October 2024
NOVEMBER FIRE ~ THROUGH A MOURNFUL SONG ... review
In our short blurb gracing November Fire's Bandcamp page Desert Psychlist wrote "This is what Zappa might have sounded like had he gone down the stoner/desert rabbit hole", what we meant by those words was not that November Fire sounded anything like Frank Zappa but that there is an element of that same off-piste quirkiness and celebration of the absurd in what November Fire bring to the table, having a feel of something that Zappa himself might have brought into play had he ever dipped his toes in this genre. To fully understand what we mean you only need to listen to opening track "Wall of Monsters" where palm muted riffage is joined by what at first listen sounds like a goth Elvis singing " We want the same but hate each other", the track then exploding into a gnarly stoner/hard rock groove over which those distinctive vocals trade off with growlier slightly harsher tones, oh and be ready for the songs face-melting instrumental middle section it is INSANE! "Can He See" is next, the songs slightly doomic dynamic supports a lyrical theme bemoaning those continually look back rather than forward with the songs chorus adding a theatrical vibe to the proceedings with a call and response vocal dynamic that has "rock opera" written large all over it. "Sad Song With No Name" is again doomic in flavour and again, thanks to its cleverly arranged vocals, feels like an out-take from a rock opera not yet made. Next song "Faint As The Stars" is played at a gallop and although we usually associate galloping rock/metal with Iron Maiden this particular gallop has more of Hawkwind-ish feel thanks in part to its underlying swirliness. "Under Red Skies" is basically a blues song but a blues song written on acid on a planet far far away while final song "Wake Up" is a mix of otherworldly funkiness and off-piste doominosity reminiscent of Captain Beefheart when he still had at least one of his feet planted on terra firma, it's jaw-dropping weirdness of the highest order.
Tuesday 1 October 2024
ROBOT GOD - SUBCONSCIOUS AWAKENING ... review
2024 is turning out to be a very good year for fans of Australian groovsters Robot God, Matt Allen (bass/vocals/synth); Raff Iacurto (guitar/vocals/synth) and Tim Pritchard (drums/synth), not only have the band already served us up one absolute killer release with "Portal Within" (April 2024) they have now followed it up with "Subconscious Awkening" (Kosmik Artifactz), four more epic length songs of engrossing space rock and heavy psych shot through with all the elements of stoner rock and doom we've fast become accustomed to expecting from them.
Opening track "Blind Serpent" is as good, if not better, than all that the band have recorded up to this point in time, it's weird and wonderful collection of whooshing synthesised noise and liquid-like guitar effects, supported by busy but non-intrusive drumming and low rumbling bass, are enhanced by vocals that are clean lean and melodic and are backed by an equally melodic mix of harmonies and counter harmonies that possess an almost choral quality in places. The heavy rockers out there might be wondering when things start to get heavy, well they DO get heavy but in a way those rockers probably might not be expecting. The heaviness here is in the weight and depth of the songs composition, when a riff does eventually start rolling in its because that is what is called for in that moment in time, a dynamic within the song and not the reason for the song, if that makes sense. However second track "Mandatory Madness" sees Robot God delivering all the heaviness anyone with enough digits to make a devil's horn with could possibly ask for, thunderous drumming, growling bass and thrumming riffage and searing lead are all on display here, the only thing not getting down and dirty being the vocals which remain clean and lilting if somewhat a little more gritty and dynamically insistent. Having delivered the asked for heaviness Robot God then move into territory that is a touch more Elder-ish in flavour with "Subconscious Awakening" the spacious and spatial title track boasting a chugging almost funky groove fleshed out with synthesised whoops and whistles over which clean lead vocals and lilting harmonies twist in around each other like mating snakes and guitar solos tear the skies asunder with screeching intensity. Finally we arrive at " Sonic Crucifixion" where we find Robot God getting their proto-doom groove on while managing to sound nothing at all like any of the proto-doomic bands that have gone before them, a hazy lysergic laced take on doom that is heavy on groove but light on all the usual tropes and cliches often associated with the genre.
© 2024 Frazer Jones
Friday 27 September 2024
OBJET ~ OBJET ...review
Thursday 26 September 2024
CATAPULT THE SMOKE ~ A WHOLE NEW WORLD ....review
Tuesday 24 September 2024
TRIPPING HAZE CEREMONY ~ INDICAT ... review
Title track "Indicat" kicks things off, its intro of droning guitar noise is overlaid with sampled narration that documents controlled tests made on army veterans in regard to the effects of marijuana on the human body. The guitars starts to take on a more doomic dynamic as the veteran in the narrative gets "higher" with the drums laying down a battery of sedate and thunderous rhythms for the bass and guitar to decorate with thrumming low slung riffage. The reverberating final note of "Indicat" serves as the opening note for its follow up "Sabbath's Bell", do not however go thinking the word "sabbath" in the songs title is a signal for a period of Iommi-like refrains and swinging Ward like rhythms, this is not doom of the chugging proto variety this is achingly low and slow doom dressed up to the nines in dark swirling guitar solos and is vocally decorated in tones that are clean, one-dimensionally melodic and slightly ethereal. "Red Eyes Downer", a huge sounding opus, is next and boasts a groove that in its initial stages is so low slow and grainy that it almost obliterates the low key monotonic vocals that accompany it, things speed up a little as we reach the songs second half and although bassist Sara and drummer Lem's thunderous groove remains just as low and grainy they are no match for Epulyard's screaming lead work which cuts through their dense rhythmic backdrops like a hot knife through butter. Epulyard gets to grab the spotlight all to himself for next song "Curse of the Witches' Grave" by parping out an atmospheric keyboard piece that would be the perfect fit for for an Italian cult horror movie. There is an off-centred feel to penultimate number "Bed Tundy" maybe its the bands use of loud/quiet/loud dynamics or maybe its the stark contrast between its hazy clean and low in the mix vocals and its instrumental heaviness that gives the song its delicious unsettling feel, we don't know, what we do know though is that this is one hell of a tune! Tripping Haze Ceremony go big for the albums final number "Religious Rider", the band throwing in all the doomic tropes and cliches they have in their formidable arsenal, plus some unexpected moves, into a ten minute plus slice of deliriously dynamic doom that some of the world's more noted stoner doom would be envious of.
Thursday 19 September 2024
GNOME ~ VESTIGES OF VERUMEX VISIDROME ... review
Despite having a well received debut already under their belts with their 2018 release "Father Of Time", we at Desert Psychlist think it would not be wrong to say that no one, including the band themselves, saw the outpouring of love heading Gnome's way with the landing of their second album "King". Helped by the release of two excellent and gloriously silly videos for the songs "Ambrosius" and "Wenceslas" the red pointed hat wearing trio were suddenly everyone's favourite band and "King" was soon finding its way into the record collections of everyone from the serious minded musos to the casual weekend rock dabblers. Now success of this kind will of course create its own problems, how in gods name are a band expected to follow up an album that everyone and his dog thinks is the best thing since sliced bread while still trying to evolve and while also trying to avoid falling into the trap of making a 2.0 version of your biggest success to date. Well you do what Gnome have done with their third album "Vestiges Of Verumex Visidome" (Polderrecords) and that is give your fans a little of what they want while still managing to take your music forward into territories previously unexplored and managing to do so with tongues still pressed firmly into cheeks.
Chugging palm muted riffage introduces first track "Old Soul" interrupted by a series of heavy rhythmic pulses before a deeply hooky guitar motif signals an explosion of caustic and raucous headbanging groove that then falls away to make room for a vaudevillian flavoured vocal backed by choppy guitar textures and staccato like rhythms. Many bands would think that would be enough for any listener to take in and leave it at that but not Gnome, they still have some lysergic psych and sludge like harshness to fit in and so they go about delivering that into the mix too. For their next song "The Ogre" Gnome play things fairly straight with a song that starts its journey buoyed by fuzzy Thin Lizzy-like guitar motifs wrapped around a vocal that bears an element of Viking metal like swing in its delivery but then around the mid-way mark the band take a left turn and treat us to a smorgasbord of groove that touches on everything from QOTSA like quirkiness to throbbing fractured doom while also muddying the waters by including some modular jazz flavoured parping saxophone in the songs final moments. Make sure you have your arse in the saddle and your feet in the stirrups for "The Gods Are Evil" as you are about to go on a gallop, not an Iron Maiden-ish type gallop that takes you quickly from one point to another point but one that takes its listener on a whole host of weird and wonderful diversions before finally reaching its destination. "Duke Of Disgrace" is everything we love about Gnome taken to another level, jerky guitar riffs, unexpected shifts in rhythm and slightly sneery and playful verses leading up to a catchy sing-along chorus, a joyous romp from start to finish.. A moment is allowed for listeners to catch their breaths with the quaint and delightful "Old Soul Reprise" then its full on riff fuelled fun and frolics through the fractured and furious "Golden Fool", the gloriously schizophrenic "Rotten Tongue", the stoner meets hard rock meets post-punk "Back To The Mud" to the delightfully spiralling "John Frume" a song that's not sure if it wants to be atmospheric prog metal or funky heavy rock so decides to be both.