Sunday 23 September 2018

Magmakammer - Mindtripper (Album Review)


Release date: September 28th 2018. Label: Kozmik Artifactz. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Mindtripper – Tracklisting

1.Druggernaut
2.Fat Saturn
3.Acid Times
4.Mindtripper
5.Along the Crooked Roads 07:26
6.The Voyage
7.Cosmic Dancers

Members

U.H. Jacobsen as the voice, guitar & keys
Stian Solberg as the low-end
And Lasse Røed beating on the cosmic drums

Review

Mindtripper is the debut album from Psychedelic Doom Rockers - Magmakammer. Coming across like a more spaced out version of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, this album sees Magmakammer adding their own heavy psychedelic groove to the Doom/Stoner Metal scene. The vocals from U.H. Jacobsen have a distinctive Black Sabbath feel to them and that only instantly draws you into their heavy spaced out sound.

Opening track - Druggernaut - is your usual standard Doom Metal type of song. However when Magmakammer start adding elements of Psych Rock then the song and album finally spring into life and keeps that confident groove going until the very end of the album. The hazy and heavy guitars become heavier and allow the band to explore different parts of their music.

Second song - Fat Saturn - sees the band journey down the same path as heavyweights Electric Wizard and Sleep but with a more progressive feel. The vocals have a slight creepy feel to them and the lyrics allow this song become one of the more spaced out offerings on the album. The whole feel and sound of the album is decidedly modern and classic sounding at the same time with Magmakammer offering a complex and progressive sound that I didn't really expect or anticipated. The music is wonderfully eerie and has its fair share of gloomy moments to impress the listener with.

Just when you think you have everything figured out with Magmakammer, the band pull something unexpected out of the band and that's what happened to me with the excellent third song - Acid Times. As the band adopt a more Garage Rock style of music and it works so well. The psychedelic and cosmic vibes from the opening two tracks are still there in essence. However the main focus of Acid Times is the Garage Rock sound with a grand Classic Rock approach being added just for the sheer fun of it all.

Fourth song - Mindtripper - is the most doomed out song held on the album which opens with some gloomy organs before the heavy guitars appear. This song feels inspired by the classic horror films from the sixties and seventies. The song has that sinister feel and the lyrics are the main reason for that feeling. The lyrics are very theatrical and OTT but they add a sense of dread into the overall feel of the album.

The final three songs: Along The Crooked Roads, The Voyage and Cosmic Dancers sees Magmakammer embrace their Cosmic/Space Rock identity even further with The Voyage and Cosmic Dancers being two of the best songs held on the album. You can expect the usual twists and turns with the band's music. However you can't deny how highly addictive and exciting it all sounds.

Mindtripper is one of those rare debut albums that have the potential to reward Magmakammer with a long rewarding career within the Doom/Stoner Metal scene. Mindtripper is that good and is bound to have Doom/Stoner Metal fans worshipping at the altar of Magmakammer. Overall, Mindtripper is a thrilling and stunning debut album that leaves you wanting more.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Adam at Kozmik Artifactz for the promo. Mindtripper will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz from September 28th 2018.

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