Dark Shaman, Seby (vocals/guitar); Dario (bass) and Alberto (drums) hail from Sicily, Italy and jam grooves that are acidic, doomic and fuzzy, however don't make the mistake of lumping in what Dark Shaman bring to the table with the Electric Wizard inspired acid doom/scuzz served up by the likes of fellow Italian bands like Sonic Demon and Witchsnake as the music these guys make together leans towards the more melodic proto grooves of Black Sabbath than it does the fuzzed and sludged attack of Electric Wizard. To be fair the bands first release "Live From the Grave", a collection of original songs and covers recorded live, did trade heavily on the heavily distorted guitars, thundering rhythms and partly buried vocals so beloved of fans of the Italian acid doom scene but then along came the bands official debut EP "Evil Ceremony" and although there were still vestiges of scuzziness to be found in its four song duration you could hear that these guys were starting to separate themselves from what others were doing in their scene and were attempting to find their own niche. This year sees the band release their first full length album "Road to Hell" (Forbidden Place Records) a much more mature and considered collection of tunes with less reliance on distortion and fuzz and more onus on song structure.
Let's not try to pretend that scuzzy guitar tones, rumbling rhythms and partly buried vocals are still not a major factor in Dark Shaman's sound as those dynamics are still an integral part of the bands DNA, its just that the band have learnt to utilise those dynamics to much better effect here. Opening song "LSD (Lies Satan Doom)" may boast heavily fuzzed and distorted guitar refrains, Geezer Butler flavoured bass motifs and punchy pummelling drumming but there is also melody and swing to be found here as well as a modicum of old school bluesiness, the band also not averse to stealing a few lyrical lines and bars from Sabbaths "Fairies Wear Boots" on their race to the finish line. Next song "Electric Death" is a short sharp jab of darkened rock'n'roll that speeds along at a pace more akin to Motorhead than it any of the recognised doom outfits, something that gives the song a proto-metallic feel while "Lord of War" is what Sabbath's "War Pigs" might have sounded like had it been recorded under the influence of red wine and weed rather than brown ale and cocaine. "Flesh and Bones" follows with circular bass and guitar refrains revolving around tight drum patterns over which Seby promises to reach and kill you in tones clean, echoey and slightly hazy. "Jack the Cannibal" boasts a riff and groove that is reminiscent of cult 70's rockers Montrose and is followed by "Exorcism" a song so Sabbathian in flavour it is almost shocking not to hear Mr Ozzy Osbourne's Birmingham accent decorating it. For next track "She's In Love with the Devil" Dark Shaman mix their Sabbath with a little playful garage rock and post-punk to create a groove that is as bouncy as it is heavy. Dark Shaman close out the album with a cover of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" a version not to far removed from the original except for its vocals which come slightly echoed and drawled.
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