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RAGING SLAB - "[pronounced eat shït]"
SONS OF OTIS - "The Pusher"
SPACEBOY - "Searching The Stone Library"
SPIRITUAL BEGGARS - "On Fire"
THAT'S ALL FOLKS! - "Psyche as One of The Fine Arts"
VOLUME - "Requested Permission To Land"
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RAGING SLAB
"[pronounced eat shït]" [ CD - TeePee Records ]
After a recording hiatus of almost half a decade, the mighty Slab returned
to form last year with "The Dealer", one of their finest albums, alongside
the classic "Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert."
The Slab's critically acclaimed style of boogie-rock never changes too radically from album to
album, and "[pronounced eat shït]" follows on from "The Dealer", consolidating Slab's progression as one of
the best merchants of contemporary southern rock!
"[pronounced eat shït]" shows southern hospitality via New Jersey through
Pennsylvania, and has a nice bit of swing. There's a healthy dose of blues
injected to Slab's ride down the Mason-Dixie line, while Elyse Steinman's
slide guitar is eerily beautiful as ever.
Why, then, does the album not do it for me? It's not the songs, which are
mighty fine. The fatal flaw here is the production, it's dull. It
is nowhere near vibrant enough to elevate this to the exalted levels of the
aforementioned "Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert", which still stands as
Raging Slab's finest hour yet.
Don't let that stop you from enjoying the great new songs though, go ahead and give "[pronounced eat shït]" a listen!
walter
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SONS OF OTIS
"The Pusher" [ 10" - The Music Cartel ]
This is a new 10" vinyl-only release by the mighty Sons of Otis featuring an Otis-mutated cover of
Steppenwolf's classic "The Pusher" and all-new Otis original on the flipside. The record is a rather
heavy-gauge picture disc with attractive visuals.
Otis have done a couple of covers in the past with mixed success, to my ears. Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" on
their "Templeball" album and Hendrix's "In from the Storm" on "Songs for Worship". The former cover absolutely
smoked, redefined the song while staying true to the original, if you dig the paradox; the latter just
didn't really kick in.
"The Pusher" cover is just awesome. It's one of my favorite Steppenwolf songs, so Otis were on thin ice
here, but faith is restored. Their version features a mellow riff that almost sounds like it's being
played backwards with gorgeous thick leadwork. The new version follows the original pretty closely, but with
Otis overtones [echoing vocals and Hendrix-y playing].
The new track "Dark Sun" is more "Songs for Worship" styled stuff clocking in at a nearly 9-minute long heavy
drone. Not exactly the greatest track they've ever done, but still an excellent heavy workout.
Not perhaps an essential purchase, but the cover version is great and the new drummer fits
in nicely with the overall Otis vibe.
a.descartes
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SPACEBOY
"SEARCHING THE STONE LIBRARY..." [ CD - Southern Lord ]
Southern Lord has another quality release out. Coincidence? I think not. A
more likely explanation is that label founder Greg Anderson has a good ear
for metal.
Spaceboy's "Searching the Stone Library for the Green Page of Illusion" is another fine example of good
modern metal. They play an eclectic blend of many styles of music filtered
through a stoned death-metal prism. Over the course of their first three
releases, Spaceboy have defined their own place in the metal genre.
Combining sound scapes, electronica, acoustic passages, and many flavors of
overdriven guitar gives Spaceboy their unique sound, but ultimately it's the
riffs that stand out.
Situated somewhere between Neurosis, Slayer, Mr.Bungle and Cathedral, Spaceboy's newest has something on
offer for any true metal fan. That they offer something to non-metal fans as well, is just
icing on the cake.
Sometimes, on past records, the band suffered from murky production and
overly complicated songs that turned off any but the most dogged listener.
"Searching the Stone Library" rectifies both of these maladies and unveils
an amazingly complex and completely enjoyable musical experience. They just
move from strength to strength, showing off strong writing, strong dynamic
manipulation and strong album flow.
Enormous riffs give way to free-jazz/noise breakdowns which slowly coalesce into recognizable patterns
before exploding back into devastating, head snapping metal chords.
This is a must-get for anyone interested in modern metal music.
drew
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SPIRITUAL BEGGARS
"On Fire" [ CD - Music For Nations ]
walter sez:
Following their successful "Ad Astra" album, Sweden's Spiritual Beggars
return with a new front man and a brand new album, titled "On Fire", which
shows the band in full-on hard rock mode. The heavy, yet melodic and
groove-laden songs sport, [virtually] no trace of stonerrock or doom. A
close reference point for the overall sound of the album is "Burn"-era Deep
Purple and late-70's Rainbow.
This time 'round the grooves are tighter and the album is less jam-oriented
but the Spiritual Beggars still take no prisoners; in fact, this is the band
at its peak. "On Fire" has everything to make the classic Beggars-sound,
topped of by a modern 'in your face' production; blistering guitar leads
pealing over massive riffs, pummeling rhythms bolstered by Hammond organ,
lots and lots of volume, and a surprising new genuine hard rock pose.
With the core element of the band still intact, Michael Amott [guitars],
Ludwig Witt [drums] and Per Wiberg [keyboards], the album's highlight is new
singer "JB" from Grand Magus. Sounding like a cross between Glenn Hughes and
David Coverdale, he adds mood, soul and a bluesy touch to the "ours go to
eleven" Marshall amps and headbanging approach of "One Fire."
To sum up, this is truly an excellent album and it propels Spiritual Beggars
to the top of the contemporary hard rock scene, coming across like a veteran
super group as well as a kick-ass live act.
a.descartes sez: Spiritual Beggars...the name makes me think...70's rock... Hammond
organs... big riffs... tons of groove.... and vocals I just don't like.
Enter the mysterious "JB" [or Janne from Grand Magus] whose vocals redefine the listenability of the
band. Mix the former great aspects of the Beggars with new soulful, melodic vocals and
you get "On Fire."
From the first track to the last track, this is just simply a classic
rock album. It's not stoner, it's not doom, it's just big 70's swaggering rock with great vocals, great
musicianship and great songs. It's music to turn up to 11 and play air guitar to! Goddammit, yeah!
Deserves to sell a million.
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THAT'S ALL FOLKS!
"Psyche As One of The Fine Arts" [CD/LP - Beard of Stars ]
That's All Folks! rightly say that Psychedelia is an Art... and they are
certainly well into the matter. The debut of the band from Bari,
"Soma...Third Way To Zion", was released 1999 and officially launched the
Italian way to stoner-rock. The new "Psyche ..." is a more successful and
mature work.
Maybe that's because the band has now acquired a deeper
self-consciousness through relentless live activity. Or maybe because of
getting in touch with other Italian heavy-psych entities like Hogwash,
Vortice Cremisi and Acajou; which they did at the time they concretized the
COLT 38 project [whose debut was attached to No 6 of "Vincebus Eruptum"
zine].
Whatever it is, something gave the leader Claudio Colaianni further
width as a songwriter, able to be careful with any shade and color of music.
The improvement in quality is especially evident in the details of
"Psyche..." For example, the suspended piano keys before the psychotic chant
in "The Plasma", which are worth more to me than any riff off of any stoner
album out these days. But those numbers powered by heavy riff-a-rama
["Almost Radiant And Fucked", "Real Last Night", "March Of Chameleons 2K"]
don't miss the mark either.
"Psyche..." is fine psychedelia, both direct and reflective at one time. It's hard psychedelia at
its best, always careful not to exceed the limits, even when visiting the potentially overindulgent
genre of space blues in "Soul Vent". The record closes with the over 7
instrumental minutes of "Psyche" leaving a permanent trace in your soul. It
explodes the doors of perception open and aims to make them stay that way.
luciano gaglio
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VOLUME
"REQUESTED PERMISSION TO LAND"
[CD - Highbeam Music ]
Four years after the release of a 7-inch titled "Check This Planet I'm Gone"
and several demo-recordings, Volume finally unleashes their
psyched-out-fuzz-fest on mini album.
"Requested Permission To Land" is the band's second effort in a kinda concept trilogy that started with the
aforementioned 7-inch on which these colossal freaks hitched their camel to the astral planes. The third and
final stage of their ongoing quest for a place where sounds are heavy and 'layered with crazed out effects' will
be Volume's first full length.
Meanwhile their fuzzy 'mind' train will take you on a colorful trip and it
reaches more dimensions you were ever aware of, and without slipping the bad
acid. The thing I really like about Volume is the use of vibe as a main part
of their songwriting. Each song on 'RPTL' is a fucked up head swim that can
be likened to either 50's sci-fi B-movies or 60's LSD-gatherings.
Volume's rendition of Mountain's "Don't Look Around" [with Scott Reeder from
Fu Manchu on drums] shows a deep respect for one of the most underrated
bands of the late 60's. While "Makebelieve" is actually a cover of
singer/guitarist Pat Brinks first band.
"Requested Permission To Land" is ready to be likened to Monster Magnet's
"Spine of God", but that doesn't do justice to the band. Volume is
just...Volume, and if you're craving for a 'blast off to outer space', this
album will nicely satisfy your needs.
walter
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