Comanchet - CXXXVIII (EP Review)

Release date: November 09th 2018. Label: Self Released. Format: DD

CXXXVIII – Tracklisting

1.Desconocido 06:23

2.Garabato 04:20

3.Taarna 05:20

4.Aquelarre 05:49

Members

Peter Navarro

Sascuatch Campos

Haars Pepino Sandoval

Bruno Brujo Mar

Review

CXXXVIII is the new EP from Mexican Doom/Stoner Metallers Comanchet and it’s quite a raw sounding EP that’s packed full of heavy doomed out grooves. Maybe not the best sounding EP you’ll ever here but the band do create a mighty fine amount of heavy noise.

The vocals are very honest and have quite a vintage feel to them. Comanchet take influence from bands such as Black Sabbath, Sleep and High On Fire. So if you’re a fan of those bands Comanchet should appeal to you. As the EP has quite a gloomy psychedelic feel to it as well. The music moves between heavy Doomed Out vibes and trippy Stoner Metal sounds.

I can’t comment on the lyrical content as the vocals are sung in the band’s native language but the vocals are constantly engaging and matches the heavy music the band create here. Standout songs have to be Desconocido, Taarna and Aquelarre. As this is where Comanchet finally start to play their own style of music and leave you wanting more.

The band do have an album available on BandCamp that was released back in 2017. That’s definitely worth checking out as well. However it’s with CXXXVIII that Comanchet prove they’re worth giving a damn about.

I’m going to quote my good friend Frazer’s review aka Desert Psychlist to summarize this EP as he’s summoned this EP brilliantly.

“Music as good, as exciting and as groovalicious as Comanchet's "CXXXVIII" cannot be, should not be, held back by borders or fences. Mr Trump might build a wall to try to stop the Mexican people from crossing into the USA but music this good will always find its way over.”

Yeah, I go with that review. Comanchet are definitely worth your time.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Little Jimi - EP.1 (Album Review)

Release date: November 16th 2018. Label: MRS Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

EP 1 – Tracklisting

1.Jimi 06:40

2.Lamp Song 05:33

3.Dock 11 04:50

4.Molimoh 06:08

5.Goodbye Katus 07:01

6.Midnight Mojo (live) 08:20

Review

EP1 is the album release from French Psychedelic Stoner Rockers – Little Jimi. Not a name that you would associate with the Stoner Rock genre but it operates within the story that unfolds on the band’s highly charismatic and gloomy debut album. The band take influence from The Black Angels and Mars Red Sky. As you will hear heavy psychedelic stoner sounds that gives away to a more gloomy atmosphere.

The EP is quite loud from the start with opening song – Jimi – having a surreal eastern vibe to the song but all held in the confinements of Psychedelic Stoner Rock. The vocals are quite different as I was expecting something else but they have a 70s feel to them. The music moves from different eras of Stoner Rock but still maintaining a modern Stoner groove.

Other songs on the EP such as Lamp Song, Dock 11 and Molimoh – allow Little Jimi to slowly build a heavy Space Rock sound to their music and the results are quite trippy and very weird at times. The songwriting is first rate even if the lyrical content is OTT and doesn’t make sense at times. However it adds to the overall enjoyment of this larger-than-life record.

If you’re a fan of Mars Red Sky then you will surely enjoy this band. Which isn’t surprising since this record is being released by Mars Red Sky own record label – MRS Records. So the influence is definitely there for everyone to witness and rock out to.

The standout song has to be the final two songs – Goodbye Katus and Midnight Mojo (Live) – as the band play some of the heaviest sounds on the entire album.

Little Jimi are not your usual Psychedelic Stoner Rock band and that’s what makes them so appealing and equally addictive. EP1 is a gloomy experience but there are moments of blissful Psychedelic Stoner Rock that you won’t forget. Overall, EP1 is an absolute joy from start to finish and I want to hear more from the band in the future.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Little Jimi is available to buy now from MRS Records.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

TUSKAR - The Tide, Beneath, The Wall (EP Review)

Release date: December 7th 2018. Label: Riff Rock Records. Format: CD/DD

The Tide, Beneath, The Wall – Tracklisting

1.The Tide 07:02

2.Beneath

3.The Wall

Members

Tom Dimmock- Guitar

Tyler Hodges- Vox & Drums

Review

Tuskar latest EP – The Tide, Beneath, The Wall – is their latest and perhaps finest attempt in creating a heavy stylized Doom/Sludge Metal sound with amounts of Psychedelic Stoner Metal riffs being played in the background.

The EP only lasts twenty minutes but Tuskar manage to create an exciting sound that most full length albums struggle to match. The band take influence from bands such as CONAN, SLEEP, Slomatics and Mastodon. So if you’re looking for heavy progressive Sludge/Doom Metal with extra bite then you’ve came to the right place.

Opening song – The Tide – sees Tuskar play a fast-paced style of Sludge Metal with evil amounts of FUZZ pounding your ear-drums. Imagine early era Mastodon playing a more modern unsettled style of Doom Metal and you have the basis for this song. As Tuskar blast, kick and scream their way through a heavy bombastic wall of sound. The vocals from Tyler are firmly rooted in Hardcore based growls. Though you can easily understand what Tyler is singing about. The song is quite intense and angry from the start.

Second song – Beneath – is the most standard Doom/Sludge Metal song on the EP. As Tuskar get straight down to business of playing a more riff-centric style of music. There are elements of Psychedelic noises being added to Tuskar’s overall sound. You can feel the heavy pounding Stoner Metal grooves slowly creeping behind you before unleashing heck. The final few moments are some of the most relentless and angriest sounds on the entire EP.

The final song – The Wall – starts off slowly before continuing Tuskar’s heavy volatile mix of Sludge, Doom and Stoner Metal. This is the standout song on the EP as the band create loud bursts of angry FUZZ style rock/metal. The mood is quite sombre to begin with but soon changes into a more nightmarish based sound. The vocals are sometimes hard to understand as their drowned out by the heavy and distorted guitars. Though it’s the music that is the main highlight here. Tuskar play long passages of Drone Metal on this song and this style of music serves them well.

The EP is expertly produced and allows Tuskar to create a more realistic sound compared to their previous EP. Tuskar are now two EP’s into their career. I’m hoping there is a full length album within the next year or so. As the band have proved they have an original and exciting style of music all of their own. We need to see what Tuskar can do with a full length album. Until then, The Tide, Beneath, The Wall is not only one of the best EP’s released this year but one of the best records as well.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. The Tide, Beneath, The Wall will be available to buy on CD/DD via Riff Rock Records from December 7^th 2018.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Samavayo - Vatan (Album Review)

Release date: November 23rd 2018. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Vatan – Tracklisting

1.Prevarication Nation 07:39

2.Vatan 07:45

3.Sirens 04:40

4.The Hate of Thousands 06:56

5.Marionette 06:13

6.Time To Die 05:58

7.Children of Kobane 06:16

Members

Behrang Alavi (guitar, vox)

Stephan Voland (drums, backing vox)

Andreas Voland (bass, backing vox);

Review

Progressive Psych Stoner Rockers – Samavayo – return with their new album – Vatan. The band continue their mix of Psychedelic Stoner Rock merged with Progressive Rock. The band have been described as Kyuss and Truckfighters jamming with TOOL in the past. That’s a very accurate description for Samavayo overall sound and their new album Vatan.

If that description sounds appealing to you then you will no doubt have a great time with Vatan. Even the vocals from Behrang take direct influence from Maynard James Keenan. Some of the bands lyrical themes and progressive melodies are heavily inspired by TOOL. However Samavayo add strands of Psychedelic Stoner Rock and Doom Metal to create music on their own terms.

Though just be prepared for a journey into the dark realms of Progressive Stoner Rock/Metal on Vatan.

Opening song – Prevarication Nation – is quite a dark and progressive song to open the album with. The lyrics have quite a bleak feel to them and the music moves between Psych Rock, Stoner and Progressive Rock with relevant ease. There is still a sense of familiarity with Samavayo’s music but you can’t deny how addictive the song can actually be at times.

Second song – Vatan – is a more Stoner Rock/Metal orientated song which allows the band to change the overall mood of the album. Especially when the trippy vocals appear. The music feels more laid-back and has a more apprehensive feel compared to the opening song. The vocals are handled superbly well for the most part of the song. There are a couple parts where the vocals are drowned out by the heavy music.

Third song – Sirens – opens with ambient sound before the progressive riffs appear and Samavayo get straight down to business in playing perhaps one of the most trippiest and psychedelic songs on the entire album. The riffs are very direct with the Progressive Rock elements being firmly kept in the background.

Samavayo continue their psychedelic musical journey on the remaining songs on the album and the album sees the band experimenting with their sound even more. It maybe too much to take in on your very first listen of the album. So you may need a few listens to get used to the different styles of music Samavayo have included on the album.

Other cool songs to check out and fully explore are: The Hate Of Thousands, Marionette and Children Of Kobane. All these songs fully show a different side to Samavayo’s music. The lyrics can be quite deep and thought-provoking at the same time and that allows Samavayo to have an air of mystery around their music. Something that I truly appreciate about this album. As it makes you think what you’re actually listening to on the entire album.

Overall, Vatan is an album is one that will appeal to Samavayo’s established fan-base the most. As the casual or first time listener may struggle with the complex themes that the band have included here. Though that doesn’t stop Vatan being a well-made and superbly entertaining album.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

DORRE - Fall River (Album Review) - And Exclusive Song Premiere

Release date: January 2019. Label: Self Released. Format: DD/Vinyl

Fall River – Tracklisting

Satisfying Sadistic Urges

Force The Victims

Maximum State Of Emotional Arousal

The Greatest Amount Of Life Force

Extracted At The Moment Of Death

Fall River

Members

Adriaan De Raymaeker (guitar)

Wolf Overloop (drums)

Etherik Heyns (guitar)

Andrew Hockley (bass)

Review

If you’re expecting more of the same music from DORRE on their highly anticipated debut album – Fall River – compared to their previous EP’s then you maybe surprised. I won’t say disappointed. Just majorly surprised by the route they have chosen on their new album. As DORRE have added different musical elements into their overall sound such as Progressive Metal, Doom, Sludge and Thrash Metal.

This is a very different DORRE who released two previous EP’s that were firmly rooted into the world of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal. Fall River will take a few listens to fully appreciate and actually admire. As the album is a complex and progressive journey that will delight and frustrate in equal measure. I mean that as a compliment. As the band push themselves musically and creatively on this album.

Opening song –I Satisfying Sadistic Urges – sees the band playing a heavy style of Doom, Thrash, and Progressive Metal. The song has a lot of angry Thrash Metal parts where the guitars suddenly speed up and offer a harsher and direct sound. There are a few psychedelic sounds being played in the background. As the band haven’t completely abandoned the sound they created on their previous records.

Second song – Force The Victims – as the title suggests is a more sombre and gloomier offering than the opening song. The song has an almost Post-Metal feel to it with the psychedelic sounds giving way to a Doom/Thrash manic energy. The aggressive post-metallic riffs moves the album further into Doom Metal territory. Maybe I do miss DORRE’s earlier sound but I still can’t admiring the bold choices made on this album and this song ranks as one of the heaviest and standout songs on the album.

Third song – Maximum State Of Emotional Arousal – opens with an alt-rock/metal riff that’s very different to the opening two songs. As DORRE play a more uplifting Post-Rock sound. However DORRE soon return to their heavier ways with the psychedelic progressive riffs soon taking over. The instrumental work is superb with the band playing a wide range of different genres and also adding a real emotional feel to their music.

Fourth song – The Greatest Amount Of Life Force – is a fast-paced number and is perhaps where DORRE come closest to their original early sound. As it’s a doom based song with a few moments of Heavy Progressive Stoner parts as well.

Fifth song – Extracted At The Moment Of Death – is where DORRE take the most risks on this album. As they have a guest vocalist singing on this song. The vocals are handled superbly well and the music is perhaps one of the heaviest songs that DORRE have written to date. It did take some time for me to actually enjoy and admire this song. As it’s quite a hard to song to fully appreciate the first time you listen to it. However, give this song a few spins and you will soon be won round by DORRE’s clever use of Hard Rock, Thrash and NWOBHM.

The final song – Fall River – is one final round of heavy psychedelic and progressive weirdness from DORRE as they switch musical identities yet again. The music is quite disjointed at times but still manages to be another one of the albums best songs.

The production is very honest and has quite an organic feel. The overall mood of the album is constantly engaging and sounds first-rate from the start. DORRE have outdone themselves with this album. It may take their established fan-base some time to enjoy this album. However that doesn’t stop Fall River being an excellent album that will enhance DORRE’s well-deserved reputation further within the Doom/Sludge Metal community.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to DORRE for the promo. Fall River will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl from January 2019. Pre-Orders are live now.

You can hear an exclusive new song SATISFYING SADISTIC URGES from the upcoming album - Fall River.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

An Interview With LORD VAPOUR

 

Lord Vapour released their debut album Mill Street Blues back in 2016. The album made a great impression on the Doom/Stoner Metal community with it's heavy style of 70s Hard Rock music spliced with elements of Psych, Doom and modern Stoner Metal sounds.

Fast forward two years and the band are back with their even better new album - Semuta. Which sees the band adapt a more Progressive Spaced Out Theme and the results are brilliantly entertaining.

Ahead of the album release today, I managed to catch up with the band to discuss the making of the new album and possible future touring plans.

You can read my review of Semuta here.

Hi guys. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today?

Hi man, not too bad, thanks for having us! Hope things all good on your end too.

For people not in the know can you give a brief history of how Lord Vapour came together and what the current line-up is today.

Myself (Joe) and Henry have known each other for years and we met Squirrel (our drummer) from local gigs. As we are all into the same music we had always made drunken promises about starting a band which eventually we did in 2014. Henry (guitar) and I (bass, vocals) were playing together quite a lot at the time and had written a couple of songs which we took to Squirrel and after playing together and recording rough demos things just seemed to fall into place and we wrote ‘Mill Street Blues’ and things just carried on from there.

You released your last album Mill Street Blues a couple years ago. What a response that album received. Did it surprise you how many people reacted to the album? Both fans and critics rating it very highly. Even snagging a place on the illustrious Doom Charts Best Albums of the Year.

Yeah that totally blew us away really, being on such a small island (Guernsey) we are isolated within our own community a lot of the time so we didn’t expect much attention from people around the world. It was great to see other people from all over enjoying our music, and earning a place on the Doom Charts was absolutely awesome.

Did you realise before Mill Street Blues was released the album would receive that kind of response. It struck a chord with the global Sludge/Stoner Metal scene and still is today after it was originally released.

No not at all, I don’t really know what we thought would happen when we released it, we just put the album on Bandcamp and sat back to see what would happen and things just snowballed on from there. Getting featured on great sites such as More Fuzz and The Ripple Effect really helped to get the album further afield.

Looking back on Mill Street Blues, would you change anything about it?

Given the chance we would love to release a remaster of the album one day as there are some bits we ended up not being happy with. We would not want to go to over the top and lose the raw fuzzed out vibe we went for because at the time that’s what we wanted, but it would be great to re-record some vocals, guitar solos and even double track some bits to make it sound massive and more up to date to our current album. Looking back there’s always times we think about how we could have done things differently or tried things in a different way but I guess it helps fuel future work.

How would you describe in your music in your own words.

A massive sound of loose psychedelic jams, groovy bass lines and a singer who smokes more than Keith Richards.

You have a new album Semuta scheduled for release later this month. Can you give provide any details on this album. Such as what people can expect from the album, who will release the album and what formats.

Expect 6 tracks of strong grooves, extended solos, psyched out jams, and big vocals. We are putting the record out through our own label Magic Moustache Records, we have big plans for it in the future! Currently it’s only going to be out on Vinyl and digitally both through our Bandcamp but plans for a future CD release are in the works.

Does the new album have a different sound compared to Mill Street Blues?

Yeah, I feel our songwriting has come a long way, and our use of tones and pedals has become more extensive, helping to had a bit more dynamics to our sound. Also the production on this record is a lot better, we spent two weeks in the studio with our good friend Mikey from Apocalypse Studios making sure we got it sound exactly how we wanted it rather than the two days of recording we did for ‘Mill Street Blues’. We still played the songs live but we then went back and double tracked guitars, put down vocal tracks and made the final touches.

Was recording the new album a different experience compared to your debut album?

The answer above pretty much explains this but to expand briefly, we went into the studio with more knowledge of our sound and what we wanted this time, we knew we wanted this record to sound massive and blow peoples minds so that's what we set out to do.

The album cover for both your albums are awesome. Who designed the covers and how much input did you have into the final designs.

Yeah we are really happy with how the artwork came out for both records, David Paul Seymour did the art for our debut, and MontDoom did the artwork for ‘Semuta.’ They’re both amazing artists in their own right. We let the artists on both occasion have total freedom with designs, so we just sent them the finished album and said go for it! We felt the artwork would come out better with less restrictions.

Will you be touring and promoting the new album heavily.

Currently we have no tours or dates booked, but we have future plans to get out on the road for as long as possible so if any one is looking to book us then get in touch!

Any word on European Dates.

Were planning to get a UK and EU tour at some point in the future so its definitely on the cards but as for now we are not sure when.

What is the song writing dynamic in the band? Is it a group collective or down to certain individuals.

We’ve always written as a collective, we each bring ideas in and then we jam a lot and ideas are conceived that way, sometimes someone comes in with something complete but then it turns into something else. We always try to get rough recordings so we can listen back but most of the time our songs evolve over time from playing them in the practice room, as for lyrics Joe and Squirrel will work together on them.

What comes first when writing and recording new music? Music or lyrics.

Always the music first and then maybe a vocal melody will happen at the same time but lyrics will either come as the song starts to evolve or at the very end, we just decide when we think lyrics will be and then if it works it works. We never try to force them into a section. Unless they sound like they should be there then we wont bother so at times we end up with tracks that are mostly instrumental with a few sections of vocals.

With this year almost drawing to a close, what have been your favourite albums of the year?

Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples,
Khraungbin - Con Todo El Mundo,
Track Not Found - The Only Way Is Lost EP
Earthless - Black Heaven
Naxatras - III,
The Babe Rainbow - Double Rainbow,
The Recks- The Beast From The Sea

Words by Steve Howe and Lord Vapour

Thanks to Lord Vapour for the promo. Semuta is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Magic Moustache Records.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Lord Vapour - Semuta (Album Review)

Release date: December 1st 2018. Label: Magic Moustache Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Semuta – Tracklisting

1.Burning Planet 

2.The Spice

3.Through The Doors Of Kukundu

4.Semuta Music

5.The Mothership Connection

6.Nasubi

Members

Christian Mariess - Drums

Henry Fears - Guitar

Joe Le Long - Bass & Vocals

Review

Lord Vapour are back with their new album Semuta and the album arrives two years after their critically acclaimed debut album Mill Street Blues. Lord Vapour play a loud and heavy mix of Psych, Doom, Stoner and Classic Rock sounds. Their talent was evidently clear on their celebrated debut album. However they take things further on their new opus with the band adding a heavy progressive and jagged sound.

Lord Vapour have actually took more creative risks on this album. It may not seem like it when you first listen to the album. However the band add a more atmospheric and deep style of classic rock to their overall sound. The album sounds wonderful from the start and has a much richer sound compared to Mill Street Blues.

Opening song – Burning Planet – slowly starts weaving psychedelic riffs amongst the classic Doom based vibes that Lord Vapour excel playing at. The song soon moves into other areas of music such as Stoner and Classic Rock and works surprisingly well whilst retaining its Psychedelic gloomy charm. Once the confident vocals of Joe appear the album moves into more dynamic Space Rock territory. As the lyrics have quite an OTT and science fiction feel to them. That part was seen in Mill Street Blues but not as fully realized on this album.

Second song – The Spice – is perhaps named after the much sought after commodity of the Frank Herbert classic science fiction saga – Dune. Though Lord Vapour deal in heavy mix of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal that is quite boisterous at times with the music being distinctively loud from the start. The guitars are very precise that allows the band to play a high amount of epic guitar solos. The vocals from Joe are fantastic yet again with them having a playful doomier edge to them. The music is a mixture of classic rock and modern Doom/Stoner based grooves. This is one of the standout songs on the album.

Third song – Through The Doors Of Kukundu – is a song that was originally released as a digital single last year and it’s good to see the song included here. As the song fits perfectly well within this album. It’s a more of Blues Rock sound compared to the other songs on the album. However the band still manage to play a high amount of Doom/Stoner Metal sounds. The song is influenced by Orange Goblin in many ways in both with the music and vocals.

The second half of the album is equally as good as the first half if not better. As Lord Vapour play some of the heaviest and most spaced out riffs on the album. Two of the songs – Semuta and Nasubi – both run past the eight minute mark and Lord Vapour impress the most on these two songs on the second half of the album. With heavy progressive guitar riffs instantly drawing you into their weird and spaced out world.

Mill Street Blues may have made Lord Vapour as a band to look out for. However, Semuta proves that Lord Vapour are destined for bigger and better things. Lord Vapour have delivered the goods with this album.

If you’re a fan of Black Sabbath, Orange Goblin, Kyuss and Fu Manchu then Lord Vapour are the band for you. Semuta is a gloriously heavy and brilliantly entertaining psychedelic blast into the Doom/Stoner Metal cosmos.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Lord Vapour for the promo. Semuta is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Magic Moustache Records.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp