Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: When I reviewed Samsara Blues Experiment’s previous album, Long Distance Trip in 2010 I wasn’t fully convinced I have to admit. I could sense that here was a band with genuine talent but had yet to fully harness their skills. It was a decent but unfocussed effort that hadn’t fully grasped their song writing potential and relied too heavily on aimless jamming.
As a result when this new album came into view I didn’t necessarily greet it with open arms. What a mistake. It turns out that, in the year since the last album was released, SBE not only take the prize for most improved band but also put forward a strong case as a contender of one of the albums of the year.
Revelation and Mystery sees SBE take their heady brew of stoner, space rock, doom and psychedelia and tighten their grasp on writing killer riffs and arranging them into powerful, towering songs that burst with vintage riffs and deft instrumental touches. First track proper (barring the few seconds of untitled strange noise that precede it), ‘Flipside Apocalypse’ effortlessly flows from pummelling heaviosity to psychedelic funk to megalithic doom to balls out rock without ever sounding forced or unnatural.
Vocalist Christian Peters’ rich baritone may sound strange at first but it soon becomes a central figure in what makes SBE stand out from their peers. From such a strong opening we barrel headlong into the album’s killer standout track, ‘Hanging On The Wire’. Here is where the band really show they have their song writing chops fully up to speed as the tune romps from its Hawkwind infused verse chorus (one of the finest I’ve heard this year) to pure rocktastic Sabbath balls to the wall crunch towards the song’s climax. If the band don’t capitalise on this track and get a video up on Youtube pronto they’re missing a serious trick!!!
Continue reading: Samsara Blues Experiment ‘Revelation And Mystery’ CD/LP 2011 review | The Sleeping Shaman.
Tags: Album of the day, Ollie Stygall, Revelation And Mystery, Samsara Blues Experiment, The Sleeping Shaman, World In Sound Records
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 at 11:30 am and is filed under 2011, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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