Release
date: October 05th
2015. Label: Ripple Music Format: CD/DD
The
Sunset Soundhouse Tapes – Tracklisting
1.Cold
Wind 07:56
2.Wolf's
Prayer 07:01
3.Goblin
Suite 06:49
4.Medusa
04:01
Band
Members:
Steve
Darrow -Guitar
Greg
Rogers -Drums
Dirty
D -Vocals, Guitar
Scott
Renner -Bass
Review:
Evoking
the spirit of a halcyon period for American Hard Rock, LAs Sonic
Medusa have a penchant for the kind of hazy and smoke filled riffs
that the likes of Blue Cheer, Lynyrd Skynrd and Pentagram are
renowned for and these influences mixed in with an unbridled love for
classic Sabbath, Maiden and Motorhead makes for a heady sonic brew.
Sonic
Medusa whose member have served time in The Obsessed, Goatsnake,
White Zombie and Sourvein to name just four and with this amount of
metal pedigree, Sonic Medusa know all about the power of the riff and
how to use it to maximum effect and the Sunset Soundhouse Tapes is
pack full of so many Iommi worshipping riffs it's enough to make any
metal fan want to bang their head relentlessly in joyous praise.
Sonic
Medusa waste no time in unleashing their straight ahead blast with
the opening track Cold Wind, a track that commences with a riff that
could have straight from Iron Maiden or Killers although that is soon
usurped by a more dominating doomy stoner riff, a supremely fuzzy
tone with powerful vocals and an anthemic and massive solo to it, add
to this a pulsating rhythmic jam that carries the majority of Cold
Wind and a melancholy end complete with a Sabbath-esque Thunder and
rain sample and you have a recipe for brilliance
This
brilliance continues throughout the EP and it becomes apparent just
how massive these songs are, often seeming like two or three songs
combined into one due to the number of musical twists and turns that
each song takes, The epic and outstanding Goblin Suite for example
features a doomy crawl offset by a powerful drawl that segues
seamlessly into some Thin/Lizzy Iron Maiden style twin guitar
duelling before ending on a proto doom vibe while Medusa starts with
what sounds like the start of the Stones Sympathy For The Devil
before a blazing metal wail arrives and then transforms into a free
form rock jam.
Wolfs
Prayer is the most straight forward song on here, a rocking song that
starts with a mellow classical guitar before a pounding riff thrusts
the song into orbit and gives it a an anthemic quality, completed
immensely with some soaring vocals.
The
bands knack for melding that classic doom sound with a proto metal
feel works extremely well and the no nonsense and organic live feel
that The Sunset Soundhouse Tapes has makes for an extremely enjoyable
listen, this is no frills and in your face metal made for metal fans
by metal fans and it doesn't matter if you're a fan of heavy metal,
doom metal, stoner metal or whatever, it's all in here and it sounds
great and above all it sounds fun and you can tell the band are
having as much of a blast making it as you will when listening to it.
Words
by Gavin Brown
Thanks
to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. The Sunset Soundhouse
Tapes is available to buy digitally now and will be available to buy
physically from December 11th
2015 via Ripple Music.
