4 piece psychedelic heavy rock from Melbourne Australia
Five songs on this debut album. I first heard these guys on 3RRR Respect the rock with their early release “Shroom Doom“. With its psychedelic guitar and soft vocals, it was one of the reasons I put my hand up early to review them. It’s not the first time Australia has attempted this genre, but it’s rare that it’s so well done.
The opening track, Holy Serpent, chugs along full of tastefully fuzzed-out guitars and melodic vocals. Holy Serpent tends to seduce you, rather than beat you into submission, and there is a contagious depth to these tracks that bears repeated listening. They also capture some of that 60’s/70’s groove into their deceptively simple-sounding pieces.
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Sure, it’s easy to classify anyone with these guitar tones and laidback tempos into stoner rock, but there are some well-crafted hooks in these arrangements. While our primary focus at Metal-Roos is the underground, this sort of refined yet sophisticated vibe is an unusual blend that might even have some mainstream audience appeal. Having said that, if you like Sleep or Kyuss, the most commonly accessible points of the genre, I think you should definitely give these guys a listen.
The epic Shroom Doom is next, opening with a simple kick and snare until the monster bass kicks in. There’s no overplaying here, as some players see these wide-open arrangements as a chance to fill in the rest of the space with their technical prowess.
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While over five minutes, Shroom Doom is over all too quickly.
Fool’s Gold is the third track and leading us into the more subtle territory, with its spacey, bluesy guitar tones easing us into the track in no rush. This brings the tempo down noticeably and, as anyone who enters this terrain will tell you, it is often harder than playing fast. There is more distance between counts, mistakes are much more noticeable and you have to maintain your concentration for longer. However the drummer maps this one out particularly well for the rest of the band to lay their sonic tapestry over, and I especially enjoyed the guitarists lead on this at around 4.15.
The Plague is the longest track at just over ten and a half minutes and has an unmistakable Sabbath feel as the piece builds and builds. There is more of a movement away from riffs at points as this develops. The guitarist colours the story as needed but is content to stay in the background until the main driving riffs require him to join back in.
The Wind begins with a unique guitar tone, like the battery is running flat on the pedal, and wastes no time in launching into the riff that will propel most of this song. These guys have great playing chemistry and I like how they play off each other. The guitarist takes us on a last, soulful guitar journey before the all too soon end of this album.
The mix is relaxed also, in line with their style, and is one of the best organic sounding albums I have heard this year, with talent and potential to burn. I hope they keep working hard to produce more great music.
Please come to Brisbane.
Release Year: 2015
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Matt
