THREE EYES LEFT ~ LEGIONE

First let's start with a confession and that confession regards harsh vocals that border on the extreme and demonic, you see here at Desert Psychlist we are really not big fans of that type of delivery, however there are exceptions where they do work for us and Italian trio Three Eyes Left's latest release "Legione", and for that matter their two previous releases, fall into that category. 

Brutality is a tool that Three Eyes Left wield with deft skill and talent but that is not all that this band are about ,there are subtleties to be found among these dense guitar riffs and thunderous rhythms. Take opening song "Sulfur" for instance with its creepy movie referencing narrative that leads into an heavily effected bass motif, ok the song does not take long before it erupts into an onslaught of thick crunching blackened riffage and pounding percussion but listen a little harder and you can just about detect beneath the surface the odd blues lick and the occasional Iommi -like vibrato making their presences felt, and let's not gloss over those momentary lapses into an almost clean, if slightly warped, vocal dynamic that are almost grungy in tone. As the album progresses through songs like "Satanauta", "We Are Legion", "Master Of Beyond" through to the albums finale "Procession With Spectre In The Wood" it soon becomes clear that those subtleties found in the albums opening track are not just a one off and are present throughout the albums nine tracks and are a huge and important part of the bands overall sound

Desert Psychlist really cannot put our finger on the reasons why we are left cold by bands of a similar vocal dynamic and musical attack yet warm to what Three Eyes Left bring to the table, maybe its the sheer force of the bands attack that hits our soft spot or maybe its the musicality framing those feral vocals that stops us hitting the eject button when we listen to this band, all we can really say is that we dig what they do and leave it at that.

Check 'em out

© 2020 Frazer Jones

COSMIC MARAUDER ~ VENUS RYDER ...... review

The three D's of trio Cosmic Marauder, Daniel (guitars/vocals); Daney (drums) and Dominik (bass), hail from another D,.Düsseldorf, Germany, and jam grooves that are unashamedly "stoner" in structure, in other words raucous riffs and thundering rhythms played hard, played heavy and played fuzzy. The band, made up of two old schoolfriends and a mutual acquaintance, only recently came together but have been rehearsing and practicing like madmen to hone their musical chops and with a few well received gigs under their respective belts the band decided it was time to put some grooves down on tape the result of which is the bands debut EP "Venus Ryder"

We at Desert Psychlist are very partial to a fuzz drenched grainy guitar riff and "Venus Ryder" is an EP absolutely packed with that particular commodity, however it is "Venus Ryder" the instrumental track that opens and lends its name to this EP that is probably the least grainy and the least fuzzy to be found here, its intro of strange noises and effects leading into a Floydian guitar motif that has sparse but effective single notes ringing out over liquid bass and restrained percussion, the songs laid back lysergic vibe only fractured when it sporadically erupts into crunching powerchords and thunderous rhythms. Those grainy guitar tones are given full rein on next song "Dynamite" a heavy stoner blues workout with a stop/start dynamic that is decorated in clean powerful vocal tones that sound at times like they are being sung through a loudhailer. "Green Ether" follows and finds the band still loitering in blues territory but this time surrounding themselves with a denser more doomic sound and levelling up the vocals with a more grizzled, harsher attack. The lysergic elements that informed the EP's title track are revisited again for instrumental "Too Close To The Sun" but are twinned with the more stoner doomic aspects explored on "Green Ether" resulting in a nice balance of the two. The band bring things to a close with "Cosmonaut" a furiously paced rocker with a strident desert feel, clean vocals roared with gritty passion over chugging palm muted guitar riffs, grizzled bass and solid industrious percussion.

As debut EP's go "Venus Ryder" is up there with some of the best in its genre, but we at Desert Psychlist are guessing that this is a band who can and will do even better in the future. We predict that those snatches of lysergic experimentation, that sneak their way into the bands raucous doom tinted grooves, may well become a much more prominent part of the bands sound and if that is the case .....well watch out world!

Check 'em out .... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones

WORMHOG ~ YELLOW SEA .... review

Often accused of being over-indulgent and over complex progressive rock has not always had the easiest of rides since the punks almost beat it into submission in the late 70's, however , in the late 80's/early 90's, with the emergence of bands like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater prog rock/metal started to see somewhat of a revival. That revival has rolled merrily on unabated but unlike its previous 70's incarnation which brought rock together with aspects of highbrow classical music the prog of the 90's, and up until the present day, has been a many headed beast utilizing elements from everything from jazz through to black metal.

Today we are reviewing an album from a Greek band who approach their prog from a more stoner/desert/hard rock angle, the band are called Wormhog and the album goes by the name "Yellow Sea"

Coming from a country that has given us such great stoner/hard rock bands as Nightstalker, Planet of Zeus, 1000 Mods and Dope Default it is not surprising that Wormhog's take on prog is delivered with its fair share of fuzz drenched crunch and thrumming distortion. Desert Psychlist is not sure if "stoner prog" is a thing but if it isn't then it should be and if it is then Wormhog should be considered its flagbearers, the band bringing complexities and intricacies to the table that have all the hallmarks of "classic" prog but cleverly infusing those elements with  enough grunt and growl to fill a small zoo. Songs like "Beneath The Yellow Sea", "Inertia", "One Man" and "Planet Egg" are multi-layered tomes that are constantly shifting and evolving, the band always finding new directions  and dimensions in which to take their songs into. Instrumentally and vocally these guys are right on the top of their game, the albums soaring vocals are blessed with impressive clarity and power and sit atop scorching well thought out guitar solo's, convoluted chord progressions, jazzy percussion and booming intricate bass lines as well as a very pleasing element of old school heavy metal growl. 

Prog is often associated with weighty subject matter and overbearing unfathomable concepts but this is not so much the case with Wormhog's "Yellow Sea" yes there is a loose theme tying all these songs together but overbearing and unfathomable are not words you would place in a sentence with this excellent and highly enjoyable album.

Check it out ..... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones

SUPERLORD ~ Vs GARGANTUAN ..... review

There was a time when Orange Goblin were the UK's only real recognized stoner rock/metal combo however slowly but surely things started to change and over the last ten or so years what started as a trickle has gradually turned into a deluge, to the point where the UK, although not quite on a par with Greece and Sweden, has become a significant hub for good underground rock music. 

Superlord, a band hailing from the English counties of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, are the latest group to throw their hat into the increasingly growing ring of British underground rock, the trio of Aaron Brennan (guitar/vocals); Tom Humphrey (bass) and Mike Whittle (drums) have caused quite a stir with their debut EP "Vs. Gargantuan" with many of the scenes movers and shakers, with only days to go, already deciding to include it into their end of year "best of" lists for 2020. 

You kind of know from just looking at the excellent sci-fi themed artwork that adorns "Vs. Gargantuan" that something special lies beneath, and believe us something special does. Superlord jam a groove that takes all the best bits of desert rock and then puts them through the unholy blender of stoner doom adding a little Sabbathesque proto flavoring along the way. If Desert Psychlist were to play the comparison game then we guess The Sword would have to be mentioned as of course would the mighty Kyuss and also possibly, at a stretch, Sasquatch and Monster Magnet but in truth Superlord are their own entity with their own unique sound. There are only four songs to be sampled on "Vs, Gargantuan" but each of them is its very own animal, "Weight" is a stonking riff monster with classic rock ambitions, "Desert Ruins" is a dune hopping desert rocker with an infectious circular groove, title track "Vs. Gargantuan" is a complex beast with proggish overtones while epic closing number "Alice Olive" is headlong dive into the dark waters of stoner doom. Each song is delivered with an unbelievable level of musicianship, crunching powerchords, swirling solos, growling bass lines and thunderous percussion, and each song is decorated in clean, melodic and powerful vocals that sit perfectly in that Goldilocks zone midway in the mix. 

Heavy, yet not to the point of being brutal, and with a groove that gets under your skin and stays there "Vs. Gargantuan" is a superb debut EP from a band who if they continue on  the path they are now following will win many new friends both here in the UK and further afield.

Check 'em out ..... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones

KING MOUNTAIN ~ DAYS OF REDEMPTION .... review

Desert Psychlist makes no apologies for once again featuring a Greek band on these pages, especially a band like King Mountain whose blend of stoner fuzz, soulful southern swagger and bluesy hard rock bluster is like manna from heaven to our riff battered ears. King Mountain, much like their fellow Greek contemporaries Honeybadger, take their influences from a more "classic rock" perspective than some of their more raucous countrymen , their sound having more in common with the more melodic hard rock of Bad Company and Free and the more southern rock sound of  Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot than it does the more abrasive attack of their Greek contemporaries Planet of Zeus and Dope Default. Having said that there is no dearth of crunch and bite to the grooves King Mountain serve up for our listening pleasure on their latest release "Days of Redemption", as hopefully, after reading this review, you will soon realise.

Things begin well with first track "Rise Above the Ashes", a strident mixture of hard rocking riff rock and soulful southern melancholy, and get progressively better as the album goes on. King Mountain have a knack of knowing how to structure a good rock song, a band who can write songs that will rock your socks off with their raucous riffs one minute then touch your heart with their soulful melodies the next, and they do this over and over again, often all in the course of just one song. Let's not pretend King Mountain are some punk rock inspired stoner rock band brought up on tales of generator parties beneath the moonlit skies of Palm Desert, California, no this is a band who have been brought up on 70's classic rock, that time when melody went hand in hand with raunch and a band was not looked down upon if they got a little mellow and retrospective from time to time, in fact it was expected. Soulful is a good way to describe the vocals that inhabit each and every one of the nine songs that make up "Days of Redemption", as they contain a lived in weariness that adds a certain amount of gravitas to the tales they tell with songs like "Justice & Salvation", "Obsessed" and "Evil Dust". These vocals are backed by musicians that can shift through dynamics like a racing driver might shift through gears, heart wrenching guitar solos' being replaced by crunching chord progressions, growling bass motifs making way for liquid lines, pounded drum skins stepping aside for shimmering cymbals, the band combining together to create a sound that although harks back to the golden age of rock is very much still in the here and now.

Lovers of Bad Company, Free, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot will immediately get "Days of Redemption" as will those that have a soft spot for bands like Burning Tree, Cry of Love and Raging Slab, those that don't get what King Mountain bring to the table may just need to have their mojo's given a radical overhaul! 

Check 'em out .... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones

LOREKEEPER ~ LOREKEEPER ..... review

When punk first exploded onto the music scene back in the mid 70's one of the reasons given for its emergence was that the youth of the day could find no relevance in songs about wizards, warlocks and dragons and wanted something that spoke to them about the lives they were leading and the problems that they faced on a day to day basis. Lately, however, it seems that reality has started to get a little too real for comfort for some music fans and they have once again started to look around for a bit of escapism, those themes, be it horror space or fantasy, that were once laughed at as being fey and trite are now once again becoming common place. 

Lorekeeper, a two man groove unit from Minneapolis, Minnesota consisting of John Dowling (guitar/vocals) and Jacob Fulton (drums), do not try to disguise their love of a good fantasy lyric in fact they've filled a whole album with them, as you will find out for yourselves when taking their self-titled debut album "Lorekeeper" for a spin.

 "Tusk Rider", opens proceedings and is a graphic account of a hunt set in a time when wooly hided beasts and long toothed felines roamed the Earth, the song is written from the perspective of the hunter and tells of "hunting the mastodon, methodically tracking the herd" in grizzled vocal tones against a backdrop of crunching guitar chords and pounding percussion. "Obelisk Throne" follows and finds Dowling adopting a cleaner less abrasive vocal tone over a groove that has a slightly more doomic feel than its predecessor, There is Sabbath-ian feel to the  proto-metallish grooves of next track "Dragon Wagon", a feel that is reflected in its grooves but not so much within its vocals which are served up ear as catching and infectious. "Trilobyte" and "Crystal Nomad" follow in in quick succession, the former an ode to one of Earth's early inhabitants replete with stuttering guitar attack and industrious percussion, the latter a proto-doomic outing drenched in fuzz and distortion. For their next track, " Copper Colossus", Lorekeeper throw us a dark thrumming instrumental packed solid with multi-tracked guitar goodness and powerful drumming. The band bring things to a close with "Beyond The Shell" a superb heavy and  atmospheric tome that is built on crunching guitar refrains and solid busy drumming, its strident circling finale the perfect sign off on a very impressive album.

With tv/movie franchises like Game of Thrones and Witcher leading the way and fantasy themed concept albums appearing on the scene on an almost daily basis it seems that escapism is riding the crest of a wave right now so what better time to release an album steeped in the stuff. "Lorekeeper" is an album that ticks all right boxes, it sets scenes, it tells stories and it delivers musically so grab your club, don your loin cloths/robes or armour and let's join the band and go slay some beasties.

Check it out ...... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones

SATORINAUT ~ EXCLUSIVE ALL INCLUSIVE ..... review

Lock yourself in a darkened room with pot of herbal tea and some exotic smoking material, turn on your 70's retro lava lamp and press play on your listening device of choice and allow Satorinaut to take you, via the medium of their latest album "Exclusive All Inclusive", to a place where the skies are a multitude of colors and the sun is emblazoned with a permanently smiling face.

Satorinaut are Krisztián Megyeri (drums); Bence Ambrus (guitar); Róbert Kránitz (bass) and Dávid Nagy (vocals/narration), four Hungarians from the city of Budapest with a love of a lysergic laced groove. If Desert Psychlist were to make any comparisons to the sound Satorinaut create with their blend of heavy psych and proto-metal then the best we could probably come up with is that of cult American acid rockers The JPT Scare Band, the two bands sharing a similar penchant for endless (but never boring) guitar solos screaming and wailing over a mixed backdrop of sometimes insistent and strident, sometimes languid and laid back rhythms. Where Satorinaut differ from their North American cousins is that where The JPT Scare Band might have opted for an occasional wander into more traditional rock waters Satorinaut seem to prefer to spend their time basking in the haze of the psychedelic sunshine. To describe "Exclusive All Inclusive" as a "trip" seems a little lazy and a bit of a cliché but try as we might we cannot really come up with a better description for the four grooves Satorinaut present us with here, especially when those grooves are combined with occasional spoken vocals that go a long way in adding an extra dimension of cosmic spirituality and otherwordlyness to the bands overall sound and sonic impact.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the truth, unity and love show" is the legend that adorns the lyrics of opening track "Sacred Superheroes" words that just about sum up Satorinaut's hippy-ish 60's ideals and 70's musical attack, who in their right mind could resist such a warm and inviting welcome.

Check 'em out .... 

© 2020 Frazer Jones