DOPE SMOKER ~ LEGALIZE IT ...review

Welsh trio Dope Smoker are a bit of an anomaly, the band, who to date have released five albums, are seemingly obsessed with surf, sea and marijuana, using these themes over and over again as the foundations on which to build their sound, a sound which incorporates huge walls of gnarly fuzz drenched guitar riffage, deeply distorted bass and pounding heavy rock drumming coated in mantra -type vocals delivered in strong ,Ozzy-ish, nasal tones.
The band today (29/06/17) release their sixth album "Legalize It" (available here)

So what do Dope Smoker bring to the table that's different this time around  I hear you ask, well the truth is not a lot really, those insistent swathes of overdriven guitar riffage, dripping with so much fuzz they are in danger of breaking up into just noise, are still in place, as are those thrumming lines of distorted bass that accompany them.  The bands lyrics remain minimal, consisting of a few lines repeated ad-infinitum,  mostly concerning the legalization of herbal tobacco or the love of it sang/chanted in stonerized mantras that are almost Gregorian (monophonic religious vocal cadences) in tone. Where "Legalize It" differs from previous Dope Smoker outings is in the levels of musicianship that have slowly crept into the bands repertoire and the subtle shift away from clubby trip-hop backbeats to a more traditional rock based percussive groove, "Legalize It" also sees the band  experimenting with elements of ambience and atmosphere, filling out there odes to "the leaf " with gentle and serene dynamics, expertly entwining them into their, now familiar, raucous  fuzz soaked riffs and mesmeric grooves. Nowhere is this more evident than on the hypnotic "Trenches" where screeching feedback, droning bass effects and wordless vocal melodies mingle with gritty stoner refrains and thundering grooves, ramping up the atmospherics to create a fuller sonic attack that is at times spine-tingling, a trick  they also repeat on the wonderfully hypnotic "Nasa". Dope Smoker also get to flex their doom muscles on the low, slow and heavy "Over", its powerful dark and intense groove enhanced by swirling guitar colouring and textures giving it a feeling of eerie menace.
All in all "Legalize It" ticks all the boxes you would expect to have ticked from a Dope Smoker album but also shows a band who are slowly, at their own pace, evolving into one of the finest and most original bands on the UK underground scene today.
Check 'em out ....


© 2017 Frazer Jones

ALTARETH ~ THE BLACK BIBLE TRACKS .... review

Sweden's Altareth's last EP "Bury Your Mind In Moss" saw them staking a claim on those retro hard rock/stoner/doom crowns once the property of likes of Witchcraft and Graveyard, this year the band have reconvened with a new EP "The Black Bible Tracks" and this time it seems they have those chalices of doom that bands like Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus once drank from in their sights.

"The Black Bible Tracks" consists of just two songs "Blood" and "Evil Intention", both clock in at just over the six minute mark and both show a band who have slightly shifted their musical direction away from the retro blues doom of their last missive and are now dipping their toes in darker, deeper waters/
"Blood" begins with an eerie out of phase guitar motif repeating and reverberating back and forth accompanied by sparse percussion before exploding into a heavy downtuned groove of monolithic intensity and depth  overlaid with strong powerful vocals that have a markedly gothic/epic feel to them.
"Evil Intention" raises the tempo slightly and although sitting a little closer to the sound the band first explored on "Bury Your Mind In Moss" remains,  like "Blood", rooted in those murkier waters found at the more "epic" end of the doom spectrum, albeit textured with touches of psychedelic colouring. "First time it hurts, next time you grow, third time you turn and evil fills your mind" sings the vocalist against a backdrop of swirling dark guitar. grizzled bass and thundering percussion, the band gradually ramping up the atmospherics before ending things on a wave of  darkly delicious instrumental doom groove.
Whether "The Black Bible Tracks" marks the direction in which future Altareth recordings will head or whether this is a one off nod to the past masters of doom, Desert Psychlist does not know, but either way these songs are two slices of darkly atmospheric doom any lover of the genre should definitely check out ....


© 2017 Frazer jones

BLIND MESS ~ BLIND MESS ... review

The German hard rock/stoner/metal trio of Daniel (Guitar/Shouts), Martin (Drums) and Oskar (Bass) originally started life as Black Mass in their hometown of Munich in 2016 but for legal reasons had to have a quick change of name so with a deft stroke of a pen Blind Mess were born. The band describe what they do as "A mess of fuzzy tones and shouts in a nebula of Rock'n'Roll" and it's hard to disagree with that statement when listening to the bands self titled debut "Blind Mess".

The band cite Queens of the Stone Age, Motorhead and The Misfits as some of the inspirations for their brand of hard edged, gritty metallic groove and although their are elements of QOTSA's quirky desert refrains to be found throughout "Blind Mess" it is those of the latter two bands that are the most prominent and obvious. Old school metallic rock'n'roll combined with an edgey punk attitude is the foundation on which songs like "Ship of Fools", "Black Mess", "Supernova" and "The Monkey" are built, and those elements alone would be enough to please even the most ardent heavy rock aficionado but Blind Mess blend into those elements touches of fuzzy desert colouring and texture, adding an air of off-kilter quirkiness to their raw edged raucousness.

If you like your rock'n'roll brought to the table with throat ripping vocals sang/shouted over chainsaw riffage, bone crumbling bass and thunderous percussion all served up with a side order of desert/stoner grittiness then Blind Mess is a band you should check out......


© 2017 Frazer Jones

SASQUATCH ~ MANEUVERS ....review

Sasquatch are a band who never disappoint, never deliver less than 100%, run your finger along their back catalogue and randomly stop anywhere and you are almost guaranteed to find a song that will leave you listening and nodding along with a big cheesy grin on your face.

The Los Angeles trio of Keith Gibbs  (guitar, vox), Craig Riggs (drums, harmonies) and Jason "Cas" Casanova (bass) have a sound and groove that, although influenced by all the greats of the 1970's, is one that is completely their own, a sound that is undeniably and categorically Sasquatch. The only criticism that might be levelled at this band is that you have to wait so long between albums,.but that in itself makes the arrival of a new Sasquatch album that much more satisfying, for when one does arrive it becomes hard to listen to anything else for at least a month or so.

Our patience  has at last been rewarded and that time has at last arrived for a new Sasquatch album, so please clear your diaries for "Maneuvers" (available now on Bandcamp)

"Rational Woman" opens "Maneuvers" with  a heavily fuzzed, strident groove pushed hard by Riggs and Casanova's solid and insistent rhythm work, the drummer and bassist locking in tight together laying down a solid bedrock for Gibbs to coat in swathes of warm fuzz and distortion. Over this resulting cacophony of proto-metal groove and stoner/hard rock swagger Gibbs also applies vocals, his clean, powerful and distinctive tones as much a part of what is the "Sasquatch sound" as the equally distinctive groove the band create as a whole. "More Than You'll Ever Be" slows the pace down a notch or two with Casanova's titanic bass line the lynchpin around which Riggs powerhouse percussion and Gibbs overdriven guitar riffs revolve, the drummer laying down a thunderous plethora of rhythm around which Gibbs' guitar crunches out throbbing powerchords and wah drenched solo's over which he also supplies a killer vocal melody and hard not to sing-a-long chorus. "Destroyer" boasts an infectious circular refrain around which Gibbs delivers a superb vocal performance, the guitarist/vocalist sounding like a lower-register Chris Cornell in places. Drummer Riggs, as well as providing occasional vocal harmonies, balances his percussive might with a mixture of power and restraint while Casanova holds the bottom end down, his bass lines and riffs thrumming with grizzled, boneshaking bassitude. "Maneuvers" is  not all stoner buster and overdriven riffage though, "Bring Me Down" sees Sasquatch hitting a more classic/hard rock groove with Gibbs dialling down the fuzz a notch and opting for a cleaner sharper guitar sound while "Just Couldn't Stand The Weather" and "Drown All The Evidence" (both tracks featuring David Unger on piano and keys) finds the band experimenting with bluesy texturing and colours. "Always" combines stoner/hard rock groove and swagger with elements of psych and a mix of Allman Brothers meets The Cult guitar colouring. The band even find space to throw in one those Sabbath-like  mini-instrumental interludes with, the appropriately titled, "Lude" a strange eighteen seconds of random notes played on a keyboard that paves the way for "Window Pain", a delightfully hard edged but soulful romp that not only sees the return of Unger on piano/keys but also utilises the talents of James Rohr on Hammond B3 organ, the addition of the pairing making Sasquatch's already big sound feel absolutely massive.

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As good as, if not better, than anything they've recorded to date "Maneuvers" is an album that should at last see Sasquatch garner a wider audience of new fans as well as delighting those legions of fans who have been there from day one.

Check it out ....

© 2017 Frazer Jones

ALMOST HONEST ~ THUNDER MOUTH ..review

"Groovy Sexy Viking Funk Metal from Outerspace" is not a musical tag you're likely to come across too frequently but it is the description Pennsylvanian groovsters Almost Honest use to describe their brand of foot to the floor, no-nonsense riff'n'roll. The band, Shayne Reed (vocals, guitar),Seth Jackson (bass), Quinten Spangler (drums) and Zach Keiffer (lead guitar), whose influences include Red Fang, Mastodon and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, have been together since 2013 and have been pedalling their mix of funk, fuzz and sludge grooves around their home base and further afield ever since.. This year sees the release of their first full album "Thunder Mouth", ten tracks of quirky funk fuelled rock'n'roll available through their Bandcamp page (here)

"Thunder Mouth" is an album that, although possessing all the attributes usually expected to be found within the stoner/sludge and hard rock canon, sits slightly left of field of those expectations. Raucous riffage, shifting time signatures and thunderous pounding rhythms can all be happily ticked off as you move through albums list of tracks but there's an underlying, slightly off-kilter quirkiness permeating each and every song. The first indication of this left of field vibe can be found in Shayne Reed's vocals, the guitarist/vocalists slightly gothic/indie tones are clean, strong with a subtle raw edge and are pitched a little lower than what is usually the norm within the stoner genre giving them a startling unique feel. This feeling of uniqueness is mirrored by Jackson and Spangler's superb, ever shifting rhythmic bluster, the bassist and drummer combining with Reed's guitar to lay down a plethora of jagged groove, switching from funky metallic to hard and rocking within a heartbeat. Over, through and around these refrains and rhythms Keiffer's lead work shifts between bluesy swagger and neo-classical shred, ripping both complex and loose solos from his guitar that soar majestically above the grooves below like eagles riding warm thermal updrafts.
Quirky, funky, gritty and raucous all wrapped up in one bundle might may sound like a recipe for disaster but Almost Honest manage to pull all these threads together to create an album that is slightly different but highly enjoyable
Check it out .....


© 2017 Frazer Jones

VOKONIS ~ THE SUNKEN DJINN ..... review

Sweden's Vokonis,  Simon Ohlsson (guitar/ vocals), Jonte Johansson (bass/backing vocals) and Emil Larsson (drums), made everyone sit up and listen with their debut "Olde One Ascending" the album stormed the "Best of 2016"  lists of many of the stoner/doom scenes makers and shakers as well as appearing to take up permanent residence in those monthly lists of current listening and good taste "The Doom Charts". This year the band are back with a brand new album "The Sunken Djinn" and a brand new label "Ripple Music" so be prepared for history to repeat itself.

Title track "The Sunken Djinn" begins with a wash of sound, guitar chords and bass lines reverberating over a backdrop of pummelling percussion before the band fall into the songs main riff, a refrain that constantly ascends and descends and is enhanced by Ohlsson's clever use of  colour and texture and is buoyed by Johansson's  throbbing bass lines and Larsson's pulverising skins and shimmering cymbals. Ohlsson pours over this tumultuous barrage of heavy groove monotonic vocal tones his big, suprisingly clear bellows ,backed in places by Johansson, a perfect match for the monolithic grooves beneath them.
"Calling From The Core" follows, it's dark, prog tinted intro segueing into a throbbing stoner metal groove pushed hard by Johansson and Larsson's solid and tight rhythmic work. Ohlsson here delivers his vocals almost in staccato fashion while at the same time crunching out dark shards of chordal riffage and ripping swirling guitar solo's from his fretboard. A mix of prog-ish complexity and stoner metal brutality it is one of the highlights of the album.
"The Coldest Night" begins with Johansson's bass thrumming out a devastatingly distorted motif around which Ohlsson throws crunching powerchords then evolves into a low, slow to mid-paced stoner doom groove taken to the next level by it's sheer intensity and unrelenting heaviness.
"Blood Vortex" follows much the same path as the previous track but lifts the pace a few notches and sees Ohlsson adding a little more aggression and anger into his vocal approach.
"Architect Of Despair" sees Vokanis embracing their doom side and hitting a blackened stoner groove with Ohlsson's now trade mark vocals booming over heavily fuzz laden riffage and pounding percussion, the guitarist/vocalist also throwing in a series of searing guitar solo's
"Rapturous" like "Calling From The Core" utilises touches of prog-like atmospherics and texturing to make its initial presence felt and like that song slowly builds into grizzled riff-fest of bellowed monotone vocals, crunching refrains and thunderous groove.
"Maelstroem" closes the album in a whirl of taped effects, backward guitars and noise and is exactly what its title suggests it is.

Vokonis, have not sat idle bathing in the glory of their achievement with "Olde Ones Ascending", these hairy purveyors of the raucous and heavy have returned with an album that not only matches the intensity and heaviness of that album but one that surpasses it.
Check it out .....


© 2017 Frazer Jones

TARLUNG ~ BEYOND THE BLACK PYRAMID .. review

Vienna's TarLung have come a long way since meeting in 2013 and recording "TarLung" their debut album, an album recorded and released before any of them had even stepped on a stage together. The band, Clemens aka "Rotten" (guitar), Marian (drums) and Philipp aka "Five" (guitar/vocals) then went on to release  an EP ,"Void" in 2016 and had by this time "popped their cherry" as a live concern supporting the the likes of Eyehategod and Saturnalia Temple to good reviews.
TarLung have recently recorded and released their second full length album "Beyond The Black Pyramid" available now on Black Bow Records.

TarLung describe "Beyond The Black Pyramid" as an album that " takes you on a hour long journey through strange tales of war, death and human misery" and you can almost feel that misery and despair oozing from every note and dark chord played throughout the albums nine low, slow missives of darkened, doom laden, sludge tinted metal. Heavy is a word that's been applied to many forms of music, heavy rock, heavy blues, heavy metal but never has a word been more appropriate then when applied to the blackened grooves TarLung bring to the table, songs like  "It Waits In The Dark", "Prime Of Your Existence" and "Born Dead" are enveloped in swathes of cloying dank guitar riffage that reverberate menacingly over powerful and quite complex drum patterns into which are delivered low, gravel thick vocals that rumble like distant thunder beneath. It's not all doom and gloom though "Resignation" shines a brief light of quiet instrumental contemplation into proceedings and "Dying Light" almost hits a straight metal/stoner groove before ploughing headlong back into the doom.

On the whole "Beyond The Black Pyramids" is a weighty album of growling malevolence and despair built on devilishly darkened grooves played deliciously low, achingly slow and extremely heavy.
Check it out .....



© 2017 Frazer Jones