REVIEW: DAAL DAZED - S/T EP (2019)

Art by Nick Potts

Greta Van Who!? Here´s the rightful heirs of the 70s.

Emerging from the Main river banks in Aschaffenburg, Germany, the young sextet Daal Dazed blooms with its fertile roots in the 70s Heavy Blues and Hard Rock. Debuting with their self-titled EP, released digitally and on vinyl last month via H42Records, this impressive ensemble only needs a little over ten minutes and three tracks to showcase all their talent and enormous potential. Channeling the spirit of classic acts such as Deep Purple, ZZ Top or Blue Cheer and tapping beautifully into that sweet raw sound of vintage bluesy rock, these gents are destined for something great. Adding a cool and personalized flair with the tantalizing percussion and seductive organ, the group shines bright as the lustful and passionate vocals are laid down over the titillating grooves held by the thigh rhythmic section while two aroused guitars boogie together slinky licks and dazzling solos. What you get is a raw and genuine first effort that serves as a nice introduction to the band and a revealing preview of the finer things to come. Let me tell you something, if this little gem doens`t leave you with a boner... I suggest you see your doctor!

BANDCAMP

REVIEW: TIA CARRERA - VISITORS / EARLY PURPLE (2019)

Based in Austin, TX the improv power trio that had been steadily releasing mind blowing heavy psych jams since the early 2000s, cultivating an underground cult around the band, have gone awfully quiet since their last LP Cosmic Priestess released in 2011 by Detroit´s legendary fuzzy record label Small Stone Records. After almost 10 years of radio silence with only the single "Laid Back" serving as a teaser released in 2017, the cosmic entity known as Tia Carrera returns now with two new hazy jams, Visitors / Early Purple, out via the same label exclusively on digital and vinyl, moving onwards and upwards on their sonic odyssey that started almost 2 decades ago.

Forming around the same time as Earthless and sharing a similar sound experience, with free forming and slow fuse exploding jams, the three piece comprised of Jason Morales (guitar), Erik Conn (drums) and Curt Christenson (bass) show that Tia Carrera aged like a fine Port and continues sexy as hell... Two brand new psychedelic dabs to melt your brain with fuzzy riffs and incandescent solos of the acid drop hendrixian guitar supported by a roaring and grinding rhythm section that carves these amazing bowls of hard psych and heavy blues grooves with so much steeze. Displaying a beautiful musicianship and such smoothly dynamics, the band creates a loud sonic bridge between the vintage 70s and dusty 90s heavy rock scene with intense, vivid and colorful instrumental long trips ridding in a swirling abstract pattern.

With such a solid and gnarly release Tia Carrera cements their legacy as one of the best, if not the ultimate heavy jam band of our time.

BANDCAMP

REVIEW: PETYR - SMOLYK [2018]

Coming in hot after bombing several listing tops of last year with their amazing S/T debut, heavy psych quartet Petyr fronted by pro skater Riley Hawk and based in Oceanside, California, are ready to do it all again with their latest LP titled Smolyk. In a clear nod to 90´s street legend Peter Smolik, the band returns with a freshly baked set of full blown hard psych jams filled with grinding solos, Tre Flip riffs and gnarly acid drops in another thrasher release by Outer Battery Records, already available on digital platforms with the cd and vinyl including a limited edition on a multi color blend power sliding on June 1st.

Fresh off an Australian tour and Roadburn´s San Diego Take Over, the stoned out foursome deliver another wild ride through fuzzy guitar riffs & solos with a crushing and stomping rhythmic section in an intoxicating 70´s haze blaze. Sticking up to their working formula but with a more punkish attitude and approach, the new record leans more to the heavy sounds then the predominant psychedelia infused debut, as the jams get faster, dirtier and gnar. Wailing guitar solos and electrifying riffs shredding over a high-powered drum kit accompanied by ripping bass lines, feed of each other to carve a classic set of skate rock anthems. The jams, now with a darker and doomy atmosphere, constantly bounce between different feels and tempos, as the rad grooves gain speed and memento allowing them to perform their insane bag of tricks so steezy.

For lovers of the So Cal scene in particular and skateboarding culture in general, here´s a banger that will turn these cats from Ams to Pros on the highly competitive San Diego Heavy Psych team.

BANDCAMP

STORE

REVIEW: COSMOS - COMING HOME [2018]

Art by Chelsea Meatchem

From the increasingly prolific Australian music scene comes our next sonic odyssey with the second album by the three piece heavy psych blues band Cosmos, based in Melbourne. Titled Coming Home and released on the hazy day of April 20, is a fine example of the many rad music coming from down under. With the perfect blend of heavy psychedelia and blues, or PsycheDelta as I like to call it, the aussie power trio continues their musical exploration with a masterpiece of cosmic proportions, as warm compositions and fluid songwriting with stellar guitar work supported by an exalted rhythm section and superb vocals expressing the most exquisite kind of agony and anger explode in the vast galactic sky.

The band (officially) formed in 2015, that has since then matured as a group and taken a more solid approach to their sound, came up with a concept for this record of “a being coming back home, but not to Earth” and hence the chosen title. That´s also the track, after a noisy intro of weird field recordings, that sets the tone and launches this kaleidoscopic ride as the band slowly build their bluesy songs until they detonate into fully fledged psychedelic jams. The chemistry and wonderful musicianship here are of an almost other-worldly beauty, as the fuzzed-out guitar licks, fed by a galloping drum kit and pulsating bass lines paired with the strident vocals continuously bounce between different moods and tempos, from the classic blues of Albert King or Muddy Waters to more contemporary acts such as The Black Angels or The Flying Eyes. This record has soul like a few have, melodic mellow grooves and wild dirty sections so good and addictive that even the smooth and chilled out interlude “Wanderings” will be stuck in your head for days to come.

One of the most solid releases of the year that will definitely put this band on the map as a powerful bluesy trio with tremendous potential and set the bar high for their next album... which is already in the works!

BANDCAMP

REVIEW: SIX MONTHS OF SUN - BELOW THE ETERNAL SKY [2018]

Art by Elvisdead

After an exciting debut in 2013, instrumental power trio Six Months Of Sun, based in Geneva, Switzerland are back with their sophomore exceeding all my expectations and making a remarkable statement on the european scene. Below the Eternal Sky was released yesterday digitally and on CD/LP by ColdSmoke Records/GPSRecords/Urgence Disks and is loaded with heavy riffage, explosive sections and electrifying moments... a record that will make any fan of Karma To Burn or SardoniS rejoice with a strong discharge of straight up & full on stoned out jams.

Along eight tracks running a little over 36 minutes, you´ll realize that this band truly is a force to be reckoned with, as they throw around devastating blows and savage punches that will leave you in a technical knockout! A massive wall of sound with savage distorted guitar riffs, thunderous drums and rumbling bass lines producing a brutal sonic assault on your mind. Brace for impact as this freight train carrying hefty and fast instrumentals of dark ambiance laced with some cool chords progression reminding of Russian Circles or fellow countrymen Monkey3, come at you with a vicious force. There´s never a dull moment, as the trio launches and fires up, with barbaric splendour, ruthless instrumentals driven by high voltage charges in a blazing stoner metal firestorm.

An awesome and powerful record from start to finish strongly recommend to all you metal heads out there looking for your next fix!

BANDCAMP

CD/LP

SLEEP - THE SCIENCES [2018] REVIEW

On April 20^th here by known as the "Weedian Day", legendary metal stoners Sleep, dropped their long awaited full length... much to everyone's surprise! Titled The Sciences and released by Jack White´s label Third Man Records, the heavy chronic trio delivers a glorious follow up to their magnum opus Dopesmoker [2003]. A sequel of some sort to that hashishian odyssey, with the weird tale of a procession of weed-priests in a stoner caravan and their journey to find the riff filled land. The cannabis saga told through distorted, downtuned, and slow monolithic riffs in repetition and narrated with holy spiritual passages enchanted as in a religious ceremony that quickly induces us in an hypnotic state, continues as we now join Marijuanaut, after leaving Earth to cultivate, on the quest for Planet Iommia through mesmerizing visual soundscapes of the galactic sea, hashteroid fields and alien skies.

The album starts with the title track "The Sciences", an intro with a drone guitar as if in a Morse Code transmission, until a bong hit by Al Cisneros and "Marijuanaut´s Theme" departures in a cloud of smoke into a powerful galloping ascending ride in a distant galaxy with cosmic groves, gravitational riffs and OM´s heavy shamanic atmosphere. As the weedian plot develops with "Sonic Titan" and "Antarticans Tawed", material written during the Dopesmoker days, classic songs now righteously recorded in all their glory to fulfill their place in the soundtrack of the story we follow more than 15 years later. These tracks bring out the quintessential Sleep from the early days of Sabbath and Weed worship, balancing perfectly among the new material with the same aesthetic but more meditative and align with Cisnero´s other band, revealing himself through magnific solos and enthralling riffs, not only, as the driving force behind this music, but also, as one of the greatest bass players of our generation. In a tribute both to the city and Black Sabbath´s bass player "Giza Butler" is perhaps the best example of this refined recipe of entrancing heavy tribalism metal impossible for others to emulate and that makes their sound so unique. Closing out with "The Botanist", an heavy instrumental that delves into a chill out piece, Pike lays down his most inspired solo on a magical dubbed out groove between Cisneros e Roeder bringing a perfect end to another chapter of this epic poetry and chimerical sonic recital.

In a time where reunions are fashionable and often nothing more than simple "money grabs", Sleep manages to genuinely cement their legacy with another monstrous release. Praise Iommi and let the weedian proceed!

AGADIR - 1971/1972 [2018] ALBUM REVIEW

Art by JBWIZARD

Focused on promoting the best upcoming projects in the country, the portuguese label WH created the Delores on Tape, inviting bands to do an improvised set in a jam format and record them live in a practice room. The second session occurred on April 4^th 2016, joining Carlos Ferreira and João Arsénio (Asimov), Anthony Meier (Radio Moscow/SACRI MONTI) and Bruno Monteiro (Stone Dead) in a supergroup named AGADIR. Titled 1971-1972 and released last month digitally, it´s an extraordinary homage to the great sounds of the early 70´s, combining raw hard & heavy psych with pronounced space and kraut rock elements in such a perfect communion that it´s mind-blowing to know that these far out jams were in fact improvised... specially with two drummers in the group!

The group had its inception about a month earlier, after a crazy night at Alfa Bar Leiria, following an electrifying set by The Black Wizards and a space odyssey with Solar Corona, when ¾ of this combo, part of the bands entourage, started a trippy wild jam that lit up the place. The amazing chemistry felt that night was perfectly recreated on this session running a little under the 80 minutes mark throughout 6 jams, mostly instrumental, on a nice throwback to those golden years of heavy psychedelic music. Evoking the great spirits of Black Sabbath, Blue Chear, Hawkwind, Neu! or Amon Düül II, warm SoCal bass lines float around the entrancing and overwhelming groves by the drums kits in full kraut mode while the heavy guitar delivers the fuzzy riffs and spaced out solos. Slowly building the jams with hypnotizing sections and cosmic soundscapes that will eventually explode with cathartic moments as we dive head first into a loud orchestrated much like contemporary sonic peers as The Cosmic Dead, Electric Moon or Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska. 

A little rough around the edges and with a few mistakes sure, to be expected in any experimental scenario, but a captivating piece of kosmiche music nevertheless... or as they say: “Flawless it is not. Powerful it is.” 

BANDCAMP

EARTHLESS - BLACK HEAVEN 2018 REVIEW

Artwork by Andrew Sloan

It was one of the most anticipated album releases of the year, at least for me, the return of the sonic titans Earthless. Almost five years after their last LP From the Ages, the legendary power trio formed in San Diego, CA that inspired and continues to lead a whole new wave of local heavy psych bands, returns with Black Heaven, recorded at Rancho de La Luna in Joshua Tree, CA with Dave Catching´s production and released by Nuclear Blast, marks a shift on their output with a beautiful new approach into more vocals oriented songs instead of the long and loosely improvised instrumental jams that their are known for.

Silly move for a band that had perfected the magic formula of mixing the best of the 70´s heavy rock on the west with Japanese hard psych into hypnotic krautrock jams, some might think... but quite on the contrary! This bold move that trigged the structural change of the band was due to the fact Isaiah Mitchell, the guitar player, relocated to another area which left the group with less time and opportunities then required, to slowly carve those monolithic jams. Confined with the “freedom” of working alone to compose the new pieces and be more influential on the creative process working on structured sections he now brings also to the table besides his always mind blowing guitar work those sweet mellowed out vocals that he uses so gracefully with his other project Golden Void.
At its core, the band`s trademark elements are all there, such as the overpowering and thigh rhythmic section comprised of heavy hitter Mario Rubalcaba and Mike Eginton´s magic bass lines paving the way to Isahia´s lead with his fire-raising riffs and blazing solos on guitar... the only difference is that Black Heaven serves them in smaller doses! A very organic progression instead of fading away trying to re-create what was done before, they have successfully opened and broadened out their music, keeping things interesting for the future, being able to reach out to a bigger audience now with this directional change and become one of this century classic acts from heavy rock like Cream, Flower Travellin' Band or Black Sabbath were the century before.

 ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

VALES DE NETUNO - S/T DEMO 2018 REVIEW

We were cruising deep space when we received a transmission from a fellow Brazilian cosmonaut making contact to share with us his own space colony titled Vales de Neptuno. Léo Gudan based in Minas Gerais, Brazil was able to raise these beautiful Neptune`s Valeys on frozen fields rich in hard psych and heavy blues minerals fertile in spacey transitions, trippy sections and pretty gnarly instrumentals... SINGLE-HANDED!

This astonishing lo-fi debut, probably record in a home studio with limited resources, stands out by it´s own raw vibe of jams filled with Black Sabbath, Radio Moscow or Dead Meadow influences. The cosmic riffs, electrifying solos and muddy rhythm section on this superb demo burn fast as comet but the stellar guitar shines bright like a lonesome star in the sky.
With the right people and after a few miles on the road, to get experienced, I believe this is a project with great potential in the future.

It´s one of those rare diamonds in the rough... a gem that just needs a little more polish! 

 BANDCAMP

DEAD MEADOW - THE NOTHING THEY NEED (2018) ALBUM REVIEW

Completing 20 years of existence, legendary heavy psych act Dead Meadow are back with a new album titled The Nothing They Need, recorded in the band's studio/rehearsal space, The Wiggle Room, scheduled for release on March 3th via Xemu Records. The band formed in and around Washington, D.C.’s punk/hardcore scene that combined their influences from the psychedelic 60´s with the heavy 70´s to create their unique trademark sound, reunited with all the past members to create a great celebratory piece and mark this important milestone on the band's career.

We are welcomed to the party with the words “Open the door, open the way... open the gate!” from the first track and single released earlier "Keep Your Head" deeply inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead... what follows next are 40 minutes of blissful and soothing bluesy psychedelia with warmful guitar tones, scintillating drums, muddy deep lines from the low end and shiny clean vocals in perfect harmony. Maybe not as electrifying or “dirty” as they were in the early days but definitely classic D.M. material nonetheless, featuring the well known dreamy layers with smooth variations and hazy ambiances once again with stellar guitar work by the virtuoso Jason Simon, who keeps on delivering intoxicating riffs and enrapturing solos laced with the gnarly fuzz or wah-wah that melts you inside and makes your mind snuggle comfortably. There´s kind of a gloomy feeling hovering around the music not only by the instruments, with predominant dark tones, but also by the lyrics, heavily influenced by the growing inflammatory rhetoric and negative energy rising in the country for quite some time now... and who can blame them?

Perhaps my favorite album since their debut, this great record is a beautiful and magic celebration of the band´s legacy of two decades deep-seated in the heavy psych scene! Appreciate it and lets hope for another 20 years of more wonderful jams like these...

SNAKES DON´T BELONG IN ALASKA - MOUNTAIN RITUALS (2017) [ALBUM REVIEW]

Artwork by Isla Marie Haddow

Formed in 2014, the heavy psych power trio Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska (SDBA) based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, have been slowly but steadily making a name for themselves on the U.K. psych circuit, by supporting some of the major players on the scene and self-releasing very limited lo-fi demos and live jams via their own label Infinity Mirror Records. Mountain Rituals, the band`s first release for other record company, came out last May via US indie label Sky Lantern Records run by Nik Rayne (The Myrrors) and reveals all the band´s potential with 2 long slabs of spaced out rock on a exploratory voyage through the cosmos of heavy psychedelic music.

Recorded live in rehearsal at Little Buildings Rehearsal Rooms, the band is captured delivering 40 mins of raw improvised psych sounds, mesmerizing drones, cosmic kraut sections, heavy guitar freak outs and shamanic vocals that meditates on Acid Mothers or Ash Ra Temples and preaches the same other-worldly gospel of fellow UK acts such as The Cosmic Dead or Blown Out.
The jams build slowly with a fully locked rhythmic section of entrancing drums and pulsating bass lines as the acid guitar quietly takes over with transcendental layers and dreamy soundscapes until it unleashes face melting fuzzy riffs and mind bending phased out solos that will eject you from your seat into outer space.

It may sound repetitive and tedious noise for some... but I just can´t get enough of this stuff! To me, it´s like sonic aurora borealis coming out from my speakers through sound waves vibrating and resonating the entire room with northern lights.

BANDCAMP 

   

HOLY MUSHROOM - MOON REVIEW

Psilocybin purveyors Holy Mushroom, a Heavy Psych band from Oviedo (Spain) formed in 2016 by four psych f(r)iends, are here with their sophomore batch. Titled Moon and self released by the band as an experimental trip trough cosmic vibes and sentimental echoes from the past, tappin' into to the classic sounds of Pink Floyd, The Doors or Hendrix and channeling it in a powerful piece that produces strong hallucinations and can lead to altered states of consciousness.

Superb follow up to their amazing debut, refining the qualities displayed before and expanding their sound into a wider spectrum of psychedelia at the same time with the inclusion of more jazz, blues and proggy elements to the mix, someways reminiscent of the great Causa Sui or the late Comets on Fire. The piano now with a more prominent role connects all this genres on an atmospheric sonic odyssey made of highs and lows; sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Quite nice to see the band´s evolution and confidence on the songwriting, including more vocals and even throwing in an acoustic guitar and a sexy sax on the last jam, adding more color and texture to their known trippy effect provided by the lysergic acid guitar, sparkling drums and glowing warm bass lines. 

Fully matured and developed, burning brighter then ever, Holy Mushroom can now be added to the A-list of spanish psychedelics that includes Acid Mess, Prisma Circus, Cachemira or 1886. 

BANDCAMP

THE BAD LIGHT & TUNA DE TIERRA - THE BAD TUNA SPLIT REVIEW

Phonosphera Records, based in Rome, has kicked their new vinyl Slipt Series with an auspicious start... The first issue titled “The Bad Tuna” joins american fuzzy blues trio The Bad Light and italian psychedelic desert nomads Tuna de Tierra, on a solid rock piece with two different but complementary approaches.

Long at last we have fresh material by The Bad Light... the band from Santa Cruz, California that released their last LP on late 2015, bring us their greatly underrated trademark blues fill with bone chilling thick fuzzy riffs and stomping primitive drums. Serving not only as a superb preview for their next LP, which I believe is already in progress, but also as a great introduction to the majestic new singer Celeste Deruisa, that came enhance the awesome vocals dynamics with her harmonious voice benefiting also from the band´s improved songwriting. With lyrics we can all relate to and that speak close to the heart adding the analog warm sound of the instruments in a hybrid between Radio Moscow and Dead Meadow, this band certainly deserves way more credited for what their doing... and I believe their next release will change that.

On the other side, we are invited to revisited Tuna de Tierra´s debut EP “EPisode I: Pilot” self-released back in the summer of 2015 and already sold out. This psychedelic trio emerged on the scene with three tracks of pure palm desert rock dusted with multiple layers of sounds and textures.

It´s a very pleasant journey with contemplative passages and atmospheric grooves along with hypnotic bass lines, entrancing drum beats and heavily effected guitar riffs coated with flanger and delay overlays. A promising debut that would lead them later on to signing with Argonauta Records for the release of their first full length last year. 

BANDCAMP 

CRYPT TRIP - ROOTSTOCK REVIEW

Crypt Trip are a classic power trio hailing from the prolific state of Texas, trailblazers of the exciting new wave of the local hard psych scene with bands such as Fogg, Gypsy Sun Revival or Smokey Mirror. 

Already with 3 acclaimed releases under their belts since their inception back in 2013, quickly making a name for themselves around the underground circuit, the band is definitely set to take over the main street with their latest offering “Rootstock”.

Self-released by the band today on cd and on vinyl later on by Poisoned Mind Records, the sophomore LP show us how the band matured and expanded their sound without losing the gnarly “Tejas Groove” perfecting, along the way, their musicianship with intrinsic compositions. 

The volatile jams, just like before, are fueled by a highly inflammable rhythm section, with a potent mixture of frenetic drums and roaring bass lines that are set ablaze by the arsonist guitar sending incandescent sparks everywhere with dazzling solos and fiery licks but are now more refined with the addition of proggy and bluesy elements to the already formidable mix of heavy psych and proto doom the band have been known for. 

This record is definitely one for the books and will go down on history as mile stone on the revival of the good old 70´s.

BANDCAMP