LUNGBURNER ~ NATURA DUALE .... review

Tie down any loose objects in your home and stick a note under the neighbours door explaining things could get a little loud over the next half hour or so. The reason you will be taking these measures is because we at Desert Psychlist are inviting you to lend an ear to "Nature Duale" (Electric Desert Records) the enormous sounding new album from Atlanta, Georgia trio LungBurner. Some of you out there maybe still be replacing ornaments and building bridges with neighbours after spinning the bands previous release "Embers", a four song assault on the senses that gave no quarter but received plenty from those who bought into its mix of sludge, doom and blackened metal bluster. The bands new album is no less forgiving or for that matter no less praiseworthy, expect brutality, expect heaviness, expect your neighbours to move house but most of all expect your face to be melted.

Things start off fairly tranquil and calm with "Requiem" however its intro of drones and circular guitar motifs, supporting well chosen sampled narrative, is soon wiped from the memory when with a few well placed hits of his drum skins Dylan Mincey signals a dive into a full on metallic onslaught, an onslaught buoyed by Joe Mills low thrumming bass and Jens Anderberg's dank toned guitar riffage and lead work,  Anderberg also doubling up on vocals to tell us of "a bringer of knowledge" and that we should "relinquish all lies" in tones that are pitched low gravelled and frankly quite scary. Next up is "The Hidden Hand", the song starts with an unsettling sample narrated in semi whispered tones and is followed by drummer Mincey beating out an impressive tattoo that is slowly joined by Mills bass and Anderberg's guitar in a groove that sits somewhere between galloping and throbbing, Anderberg adding extra impact to the songs powerhouse dynamic with a series of superbly placed samples and a vocal that is more a tuneful roar than an actual melody. "(Prey) Job" boasts a somewhat proto-doomic groove in places but do not go looking for comparisons with some of the giants of that sub-genre here because you will not find any, this is sludgier more blackened, more extreme than anything you will find on anything released by the Sabbath's and Wizard's of this world. Next song "Barren" is one for all of you out there who love a groove that "chugs" however there is much more going on here than repetitive riffs and steady thunderous rhythms, beneath the caustic refrains and raw throated vocalisations exotic elements routinely surface and then drift away, there is brutality here for sure but there are also elements of subtlety. "Astral Projection" is the perfect song for LungBurner to close their current account with, it is a song that utilizes everything explored previously and crams it all into one huge mind blowing curtain closer, a sludgy doomic metallic slice of  irresistible heaviness.

 LungBurner's "Natura Duale" is one of those rare albums that that will appeal to both metals extremists and its staunch traditionalists, it is a thoroughly heavy album but it is also not one without its moments of subtlety. It is the perfect album for those wanting to take their first tentative steps into metals darker side but also perfect for those who still prefer an element of form in their chaos. 

Check it out ....  

 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

BLACK CITRUS - GLASS MOUNTAIN .... review

 

Black Citrus are a trio from Vilnius, Lithuania, the band play a raw darkened form of stoner rock edged with elements of  sludginess that along the way also touches base with doom and heavy psych. The band have gone through a few line-up changes since their inception but seem to have found some some sort of stability with their current line up of Andrius Katinas (guitar/vocals); Augustinas Bėkšta (bass/vocals) and Vaidotas Segenis (drums). The band have just released their debut full length album "Glass Mountain" via Bandcamp an album we at Desert Psychlist believe is worthy of  your attention.

Although chiming guitar tones introduce opening track "Crowded Sky" do not start thinking that you are in for a pastoral tip-toe through the tulips as you will soon discover when the hammer goes down and the trio explode into a maelstrom of crunching riffage and thundering rhythms accompanied by a vocal that borders on the edges of throat destroying. Surprisingly though there is a melodic element to be found amidst all this crunching heaviness, the vocalist may sound like he has smoked far too many cigarettes and maybe hit the bong a little more often than is good for him but he can hold a note and deliver a decent melody, the band as a whole are also not adverse to laying out languid and lysergic either as you will discover when they dial things way back at the songs three quarter mark. The band mix up stoner-like rhythmic drive with post-punk/indie guitar textures for the superb "Shadow of Your Light" then get feral and ferocious for the full on "Amor Fati". The albums fourth song goes by the confusing title of "7th Song" a rolling and thunderous stoner metal romp that then makes way for the slightly more than a bit twisted "Dionysus' Eyes" a weirdly off-centred sludge fest that sees the vocals take on a harsher more guttural dynamic but that also boasts searing clean bluesy lead guitar work... and just when you thought things could not get anymore gnarly the band then hit you with the ballsy and blackened "One of Us". Things return to a more stoner-ish and metallic footing with the rocking "Spit on a Shore" but then go off piste again with the hardcore tinted closer/title track "Glass Mountain", the band signing off their debut in glorious anarchic and chaotic style.

Gnarly. grizzled and grainy with moments of  brutality sitting side by side with elements of melody and swing Black Citrus' "Glass Mountain" is not what you could call a "by the numbers" sort of album, it is off-kilter and challenging in places and straight-ahead and rocking in others, an album that is not always an easy listen but IS nonetheless a constantly rewarding one. 

Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

SANDKRAWLER ~ SANDKRAWLER ....review

If you like your riffs on the repetitive and circular side, your rhythms sedate crushing and thunderous and your vocals delivered in voice that is a mix between an angry Orc and a Marvel supervillain then you are going to go apeshit when you get a load of Portland, Oregon trio Sandkrawler's self titled debut "Sandkrawler". The band, who go by the names Ur’rik Bruk’bawa (drums); D’ruw Stemm’ler (guitars) and M’ark Wyy’ka (bass/vocals), have what some might suggest is an unhealthy obsession with all things Star Wars so much so that they regularly appear on stage dressed as oversized Jawa's while also having a tendency to salt their heavy stoner doom/sludge songs with sampled narration lifted straight from George Lucas' celebrated franchise. Now given that information you might be fooled into expecting something a touch on the comedic side, maybe a bit naff and silly, but these guys take their music seriously and what they present us with on "Sandkrawler" is some pretty impressive, if a little tongue in cheek, low'n'heavy stoner doom played with real conviction.

Things start noisily and heavy with "Black Cloak", guitar tones here are dialled to crushing and are buoyed by low growling bass and pounding drums over which low gravelled vocals tell the tale of Anakin Skywalker's gradual shift towards the dark side and his revenge for his mothers death on a tribe of Tuskan Raiders. The songs groove throughout is kept at just a few notches above low'n'slow and boasts a Sleep-like "weedian" vibe albeit one with a story set in an entirely different universe. Next song "Blizzard's Grip" uses "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" as its theme with mentions of Tauntauns (a reptile /mammal hybrid) and Luke Skywalker's brush with a frozen death set against a backdrop of  throbbing stoner doom punctuated with sampled beeps and whistles from R2D2 and decorated in low throaty vocals. For their next song "Force Echoes" Sandkrawler take us to Tatooine the desert home of both Anakin/Darth Vadar and Luke Skywalker, the groove here is achingly low, slow and heavy but here we find the vocals limited to a few lines with a greater reliance placed on sampled movie narrative. Title track "Sandkrawler" is next and sees the guitar tones take on a more fuzzy and fitting desert rock dynamic, still pitched low'n'slow and doomic but with a little more added grittiness. Final song "200 Tons of Steel" is pure delight from start to finish, the song  utilising samples of Han Solo's voice, R2D2's beeps and Chewbacca's distinctive gargle to flesh out a grindingly heavy ode to the Millennium Falcon, and who could possibly not love a song featuring the lyric "200 tons of steel, Wookie at the wheel" 

Some might dismiss the use of the Star Wars franchise as a concept for an album as being slightly frivolous and possibly a bit nerdy but those same people will happily buy into Sleep's "Dopesmoker" despite the fact that "Dopesmoker" lift's much of its imagery from Frank Herbert's Dune. Sandkrawler might use Star Wars themes and samples as the basis for their songs, and as part of their on stage imagery, but musically they doom ..and doom hard.

Check 'em out....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

CURSE THE SON ~ DELIRIUM .... review

Hamden, Connecticut outfit Curse the Son have been knocking around for what seems like forever which is no mean feat given they exist in a scene not renowned for the longevity of its bands. In their time together Curse the Son have a accrued a healthy reputation for delivering quality material, from the bands first EP to the album we are going to be reviewing today Curse the Son have hardly put a foot wrong. It does then seem strange that despite the respect and admiration they have garnered over the years that the band have not quite made that leap to the top of pile where bands like Clutch, Elder and Monster Magnet currently reside. That could all change with "Delirium" (Ripple Music) an album that sees Curse the Son not so much shrugging off the proto-doom that has served them so well but hugging it tighter than they have ever done before while at the same time also bringing to the table a host of new textures and colours, creating in the process an American doom classic worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as those iconic albums by the likes of Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Pentagram

 Opening number "The Suffering Is Ours" draws not from the well of Sabbath, as so many songs in this scene do, but draws instead from the sound that was created by those American bands inspired by Sabbath. The songs dynamic is of course doomic and heavy but leaves at the door any pretence at being bluesy or having that jazzy swing thing going on, if their is any swing to be found here it is not to be found in the songs bass lines or drumming, all of which are laid down heavy and thunderous, it is to be found in its vocals which posses a lilting melodic quality. Up next we get "Deliberate Cruelty (The Extermination Song)" and here we DO get that "swing" thing going on in the drums, bass and guitar but also little vestiges of "out there in the cosmos" experimentation. Next we come to the track that most, if not all, will be coming back to again and again, "RIP" is classic proto-doom, a Witchfinder General cover with verses, a chorus and a bridge that will stay with you until you shuffle off this mortal coil, there will be those who say that you can never improve on an original song...well they cannot have heard this then. "Riff Forest", an instrumental, is exactly what it says it is.. a dense onslaught of dark and doomy riffage driven by pummelling percussion  that is then followed by "In Dismal Space" a sometimes full on sometimes spacious assault on the senses that mixes psychedelic doom with gnarled stoner metal to create a groove that is in turns brutal and in turns atmospheric, it's also in possession of a great vocal. There is an element of "tune in turn on and drop out" about the hazy lysergic and trippy "Brain Paint" while title track "Delirium" is probably Curse the Son at their creative best, slightly off the wall and quirky yet still in full possession of the doomic heaviness that has become their calling card. Second to last we get "May Cause Drowsiness" a ridiculously brief mood piece that feels like it is over before it even gets started. Final number "Liste Of The Dead" sees Curse the Son put all the spaciousness and trippiness of the albums later stages behind them and go full on doom with low slow reverberating riffage, thundering percussion and clean powerful vocals to the fore, the songs only downside being that it is allowed to fade out rather than come to a satisfying full stop.

Do not go dismissing Curse the Son as another of those Sabbath worshipping bands as they are far from being that, yes they do work in a similar field of music but their sound, when not spiralling off into hazy and lysergic territories, is much more an American take on doom, a sound inspired more by Wino than it is Iommi. Having said that there are many places on "Delirium" where the doom takes a slight  back seat for a much more experimental and expansive dynamics and it is in those places that Curse the Son really push the envelope of what can be done within the confines of the doom genre.

Check it out.... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

HELL IS A CITY ~ NARROW SEAS .... review

Desert Psychlist has to admit to not being familiar with California trio Hell Is A City's work up until now, which is not surprising considering that up until recently the band have only been releasing one off tracks on their Bandcamp, but we are on board with them now. The reason they have suddenly appeared on our radar is due to the release of the bands first full length album "Narrow Seas" an intriguing blend of heavy blues and proto-doom perfect for those who like their music sitting on a razor's edge between the heavy rock sound of the 1970's and the stonerized doom and heavy psych of today's underground scene. 

Back in 1973 a trio named Stray Dog released one of the most underrated self-titled debut's in rock history, the album opened with "Tramp (How It Is)" a song that began with swelling keyboards, choral singing, cannons and scorching lead guitar only to be then suddenly interrupted by a cry of "fasten your seatbelts" before erupting into one of the best opening rock songs ever to grace a debut album. The reason we mention this is that the feeling Desert Psychlist got when that track exploded into our lives back in the day is akin to the feeling we got today when "Collapse", the opening track of "Narrow Seas", rolled out of our speakers and proceeded to blow us away with its soulful and husky vocals punchy proto doom grooves and swirling guitar textures, a truly "fasten your seatbelts" moment. Now we all own albums that have started strong only to then go quickly downhill but that is not the case here as "Hush" quickly proves with its excellent boogie meets doom groove, its angry with the world lyrical content and its cleverly placed spoken narrative, and lets not forget those face-melting guitar solos. "Narrow Seas/Brewedinterlude" follows with the first part of the song finding Hell Is A City mining for doomic gold while still maintaining a firm grip on the blues, albeit blues tinted with a little Alice In Chains guitar slurriness, the second part of the song a serene and tranquil mood piece. "Dry Your Eyes" finds the band jettisoning the doom for a dynamic with a slightly more grungy desert rock feel while "Skinpiston" sees the band using that old doom trick of switching tempos and time signatures to create a groove that is Sabbathian in flavour if not wholly in sound. Penultimate track "Ask The River" sees Hell Is A City going full delta blues with shimmering slide guitar resonating over low grizzled bass and punchy solid tight drumming, it has to be said that if it were not for the huskier throatier nature of the vocal tones and the sampled narrative that marks the songs final moments then comparisons could easily be made here with Led Zeppelin's/Memphis Minnie's "When The Levee Breaks". Hell Is A City finish their debut with the appropriately titled "The End" a delicious mish mash of alt-metal, heavy blues and proto-doom that is raucous and rocking for the most part but then shifts down into droning ambience as it reaches its conclusion.

Although the blues still plays a significant role in heavy music it is not the force it once was, these days the blues tends to be just another shade on the musical palette, used when needed ignored when not, very rarely do you see new bands for whom the blues is the primary rather than the secondary colour. For Hell Is A City, Karl (vocals/guitar); Gene (bass) and Josh (drums), however the blues are the block on which all their songs are built, every song on "Narrow Seas" has its roots in the genre, this is not a doom album with elements of the blues, this is a blues album with elements of doom.

Check it out .... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones