PSYCHIC DOSE ~ SATYRNALIA ...... Occult grooves from Florida

Psychic Dose have been teasing us for a little while now, drip feeding us snippets of their occult/retro rock grooves via Bandcamp, whetting our appetites slowly and deliberately, working us up into a frenzy for the day a full album would be released. Well that day has arrived and debut album Satyrnalia is finally here for us all to hear.....but was it worth the wait?
Well the answer to that question is a resounding yes!

Psychic Dose take a pinch of Royal Thunder's bluesy stoner, a spoonful of Witch Mountain's retro doom add a smattering of Purson's pop/psych sensibility and sprinkle it all with a healthy dose of fuzz and distortion, creating a sound that is familiar but wholly their own.

Satyrnalia opens with "On Hooves I Ride", a chugging mid paced rocker that's catchier than head cold, I defy you to stop your foot tapping along to it's infectious hard rock grooves and hooky riffs. The track is further enhanced by the slightly sinister, witchy rasp vocals of Amanda Howell, her malevolent delivery giving the tune a dark doomy edginess.
The following eight tracks follow in much the same vein. Bluesy doom grooves and angular occult rhythms are driven by a powerful engine room of Aaron Beauregard on bass and Mino Mercurious on drums and sprinkled with scorching guitar tones from Andrew Costantino, the three musicians creating a wall of razor sharp stoner noise over which Howell lays her eerie, unique vocals. Songs like the awesome "Lord Of The Trolls" with its backward recorded intro and "Tying The Wind", all folky acoustics and with a slightly medieval feel, show a band who are not bereft of ideas and a band who promise much for the future.

Check 'em out.....

OUT OF THE EARTH ~ Debut album from Greek stoner trio

I have enthused before on these pages concerning the depth of talent that is currently coming out of Greece's underground so I will not waste your time by going over old ground except to say that Greece has some new boys on the block who go by the name Out Of The Earth and they have just released a killer self titled debut album.

Out Of The Earth (the album) is an infectious mix of bluesy hard rock rhythms and fuzzy stoner grooves chock-a-block full of delicious hooks that'll have you punching the air with joy long before the last tune fades. Bluesy riffs, licks and solo's, thick with fuzz and wah pedal effects  are peeled off with ease from the fingers of guitarist Thanos (this current trend of bands only using their first names is starting to get annoying) and are underpinned by some sterling, solid rhythm work from Stellos on bass and Marios on drums . As well as holding down guitar duties Thanos also doubles up on vocals and its these vocals that give Out Of The Earth (the band) their edge. Powerful, clean and sounding not unlike Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, Thanos' voice dominates this album with it's grungy blues tones and classic rock delivery, swooping and soaring over the music like a seagull over the waves only stopping to rip out a scintillating solo or a tasteful lick from his six strings,... stunning!.
 From the alt/grunge rock of "Need" to the funky stoner of "Crave" the band never give less than 100%, voice, strings and percussion uniting together to create a sound that is both exhilarating and essential listening, making Out Of The Earth (the album)  something to savour and Out Of The Earth (the band) one to keep an eye on for the future.

PATHOS ~ ELIXIR, Brazilian prog stoners debut new album

Ricardo Marliere, guitarist of Brazilian prog stoner band Pathos, is a very insistent man, Ricardo has been bombarding me via various forms of social media to take a listen to his band. Well today his persistence paid off and I finally relented and took a listen........ WOW!

"Elixir" is a concept album and although  I can hear some of you reeling with disgust at the word "concept" fear not, the seven songs that make up "Elixir" are more than able to stand up on their own outside of their conceptual theme.

"Portal" opens Elixir and is a stunning slab of stonerized bluesy guitar pyrotechnics that begins quite gently but then explodes into a flurry of distorted bass and guitar jams driven by solid precise drumming from Hugo Moutinho.
"Haunted Vision" is next up with Marliere and bassist Lucas Guida delivering a peach of a riff, fuzzed to the max and filthy with distortion. Vocals then enter the equation, smooth, clean, melodic and with no hint of an accent João Pedro Vieira's voice has a tone and delivery that brings to mind, UK 70's hard rockers, May Blitz's Jamie Black. In fact the whole of "Elixir" sounds as though it was recorded by one of those early 70's bands you find on youtube , you know those ones that never quite made it to the top, due to bad management or in-band politics, but nevertheless produced music of a quality and depth that still stands up today.
A perfect example of this is next track "Sophie" a beautiful mix of early prog melodic complexity and 00's gritty stoner psych that introduces a little flute colouring to the Pathos's sonic cannon and ends with a scorching guitar wig-out.
"Untitled (formally known as The God)" is a mini opera split into three acts that sees the band excel themselves both musically and lyrically. Time signatures shift seamlessly between the acts with Guida's bass and Moutinho's drums being especially effective throughout, bridging the gaps between the three movements with fluid lines and percussive dexterity. Vieira is on fine form too, his vocal tone shifting from melodic croons to impassioned wail and employing subtle changes of tone on each act to enhance the "opera" effect. Marliere's guitar tops everything off with a mixture of hard distorted riffage and textured  six string colouring, going from a wall of fuzz one minute to intricate gentle noodling the next and all in the blink of an eye, incredible.
"Ankh" kicks off all heavy and full of bluster then shifts into ballad territory. light and gentle with Vieira's voice taking on a sweet fragile edge then BANG! we are back to the heavy stuff with Marliere laying down some stunning, effect laden, guitar fire. Listen for some lovely bass fills from Guida too.
The next two tracks "The Wanderer" and "Sequel" see Pathos throw  a little diversity into the mix, the former a mix of all of the above but with a little funkiness thrown in for good measure and the latter a jazzy little workout that includes a trumpet solo, a tone poem and an absolutely delicious guitar solo from Marliere. Both tracks show that as well as rocking out Pathos can SWING!
"Elixir" is, on the whole, a stunning album full of little twists and turns that'll have you discovering something new in its grooves every time you play it, its also an album I might not have heard if it was not for Ricardo Marliere's stubborn dogged persistence ...... Thank you Ricardo

TUNA de TIERRA ~ EPisode I:Pilot.....Italian desert groovers release EP

Stoner/desert rock has always had on the flip side of its coin a more ambient, expansive and experimental side, a side that sees big fat E chords swapped for gentle arpeggios, walls of fuzz for swathes of colour, brutality for beauty. For every Fu Manchu there is a Colour Haze, for every Monster Magnet a Sungrazer. Let us not forget though that coins also have edges and that is where you will find Italian groovsters Tuna de Tierra.

"EPisode I: Pilot", the debut EP from Italy's Tuna de Tierra, may only be three tracks long but what you get for your money is well worth the investment.

The EP begins with "Red Sun" a slow burning atmospheric number that opens with a gorgeous, laid back, wah flecked, drone like guitar motif that is then joined by the bass and drums, opening the way for the sublime vocals to follow. Alessio De Cicco's voice is a thing of beauty, clean, melodic and with a mildly grunge/alt type tone and delivery, his voice floats and flows over the music, enhancing the sound beneath him with a smooth power. Around the 3:15 mark the dynamic changes and the initial riff is ramped up a notch or two,  pedals are stamped on and things get a little more gnarly and show that as well as delivering the beauty the band can deliver the fuzz too.
"Ash" is next up and for me is the best of the three tracks on offer. Heavier and slightly more "stoner" than "Red Sun" "Ash" really highlights the contributions of  Luciano Mirra (bass) and Jonathan Maurano (drums), Mirra's bass throbbing and rumbling, filling the gaps left by De Cicco's guitar (yes he also plays guitar) with wonderful four string dexterity while Maurano pounds out a solid wall of percussion, pushing and driving the music from behind his drumstool, powerful and manic one minute, gentle and intricate the next. De Cicco's guitar playing is as impressive as his voice and on "Ash" he excels pulling huge swathes of psychedelic colour from his six strings and embellishing those colours with clever use of effects and pedals to add layers of sonic texture. Stunning stuff
Final track "El Paso de la Tortuga" is classic desert rock, you can almost feel the sand beneath your feet and see the sun bleached bones as you listen. Maurano lays down a wonderful hand played conga beat over which De Cisso lays a languid laid back vocal, embellished with reverb/echo soaked guitar colouring while Mirra holds the bottom end down with some gentle clean bass.
Moody, majestic and a nice way to conclude a very promising debut from a very good band.

WHITE WAIL ~ Promising demo from these Oregon stoners

White Wail are one for the future if their excellent demo is anything to go by.
Chock-a-block full of late 60's early 70's psychedelic groove and acid rock grit  "The White Wail Demo" is a stunning mash-mash of influences and styles, in fact one of the joys of listening to these four tunes is spotting where and whom the influences came from. The Doors and Quicksilver Messenger Service are just two bands, I picked up on, hiding amongst White Wails sonic palette ,in fact I could name at least another six bands I hear in these majestic grooves but i'm not going to ruin anyone's fun by naming them, much more fun working them out for yourselves. Vocals on this EP are an utter joy, the singer channeling the spirits of both Morrison and Beefheart through his voice, howling, screaming, crooning and generally singing up a storm, unconventional, sometimes a little loose and chaotic but bang on the money. Musically White Wail nail it down hard, shimmering guitars, solid dynamic drumming, deeply delicious bass lines and all topped off with those amazing vocals. This band are not just about borrowing from the past though, no White Wail take those 60's/70's grooves and put a 00's stoner twist to them, adding and enhancing them with their own brand of hazy acid blues, taking a sound we are familiar with and redesigning it for today.

4 Ciénegas ~ Cuatro Ciènegas ..... Heavy Mexican Psych

4 Ciénegas are a supergroup, of sorts, consisting of members from the elite of Mexico's stoner/psych scene, Daniel (Los Dealers) - Drums,  Juan (Vinnum Sabbathi) - Bass, Fausto (Bar de Monjas) - Guitar and Gerardo (Bar de Monjas, Vinnum Sabbathi)- Guitar. In Febuary 2015 these guys went into a studio, pooled their resources and came up with an album of some of the heaviest fuzz drenched instrumental  psych'n'roll your likely to hear this year.

"Cuatro Ciènegas" is a massive album, filled to brimming over with intense fuzz drenched riffage. scorching guitar solos and hard, heavy rhythmic thunder. Made up of eight songs of speaker shredding distorted stoner psych, these tunes are heavier than a truck full of mercury yet are focused, never sloppy. The production favours the fuzz but not to detriment of the instrumentation, every individual performance can be picked out to savour and drool over, allowing the artists musical dexterity to shine through but not detracting from the overall impact of the music as a whole.
If you like heavy instrumental music, fuzzed to the max and garnished with superb musicianship then check "Cuatro Ciènegas". like a lot of things that come from Mexico it's hot and full of spice!

ALTARETH ~ BURY YOUR MIND IN MOSS..... Swedish doom'n'melody

Altareth are yet another band to come out of Sweden's burgeoning stoner/doom scene and are a band who on the strength of their latest EP "Bury Your Mind In Moss" could soon be nudging at the door of respect and admiration that is currently being heaped on the shoulders of fellow Swedes Graveyard and Witchcraft.

Altareth's sound is a little less refined than those two bands mentioned, a little rougher around the edges and in places almost raw but as they state in their liner notes "The foundation of Altareth is the meeting of heavy riffs and memorable melodies" and  this evident right through the four songs that make up "Bury Your Mind In Moss".

First track "Circles" is a superb example of the above statement. The song begins with a single note guitar motif punctuated by short sharp rhythmic stabs and little bluesy licks which then opens the door for a slammin' main riff, dark, distorted and delicious. Clean, and slightly monotone and with a hint of Ozzy-iness to its delivery, the vocal is powerful and effective and fits hand in glove with the heavy backdrop of doomy occult grooves ."Circles" finishes with a ripping  guitar solo, melodic and with touches of wah pedal, a little more Blackmore than Iommi, and takes the song to its gloriously noisy conclusion.
"Perpetual Haze", the EP's second track sees the vocals get a little more gnarly, a little growly but that is not surprising considering the immense wall of fuzz drenched noise that they have to compete with. Dark, dirty and downtuned the guitars sound as if they are heralding the coming of the horned one, the repeating riffs going around in circles building in intensity until exploding into a cacophony of  noise at its finale.
"Night" follows with a memorable riff that'll have you nodding along like one of those dogs you sometimes see on the back shelves of cars. The vocals revert back to the more melodic Ozzy-ish vibe that were employed on "Circles", a wonderful swinging nasal monotone. "Night" is probably my favourite track on this EP.
Final track "Epicloge" is a slight departure from the norm and sees Altareth donning their experimental caps, Beginning with a lovely acoustic guitar motif, it then segues into a slightly epic doom groove when the electric guitars kick in, only to then shift again into a utterly weird fluttering synth effect that takes the song to its fade. It's an odd one but does show that Altareth  are prepared to step outside the box and mix things up a little.
"Bury Your Mind In Moss" is a really good EP that shows a band who are slowly finding their feet, honing their sound, tweaking their doomy grooves until they find a sound that comfortably fits them. It's not a great EP, too many rough edges, but i'm sure it will only be a matter of time before Altareth achieve that great recording and then take their place on the podium next to their Swedish peers.