Release
date: June 16th 2017. Label: Dine Alone Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Whatever
Witch You Are – Tracklisting
Rainbow Of The Ohm
Chart
Basic Cable
Away From The Speed
Bad Luck Child
The Moon Will Listen
(But Not The Sun)
Adderall Highway
Gold Tooth
Silver Sea
Experience To
Liberate
Band
Members:
Walter Schreifels
Drew Thomas
Paul Kostabi
Nathan Aguilar
Review
Dead Heavens is the
latest group featuring these talented individuals. Walter Schreifels
(Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools), guitarist Paul Kostabi
(Youth Gone Mad, White Zombie), drummer Drew Thomas (Youth of Today,
Into Another, Bold) and bass guitarist Nathan Aguilar (Cults). I'm
not gonna call this band a supergroup as that would be an insult to
their talents and to Dead Heavens overall.
Dead Heavens play a
dark twisted version of Psychedelic Rock which includes elements of
Classic Rock and Stoner Rock.
Their debut album -
Whatever Witch You Are - is quite a creative album with the band
playing Dark Rock tinged Psych Stoner Rock magic. The songs are
catchy and straight to the point with Dead Heavens creating heavy
moments of noisy psychedelia. The sound is a mixture of psych rock,
hard rock with modern dark rock sounds. Though Dead Heavens take
influence from the classic hard rock bands of the sixties and
seventies. I've seen these guys called Black Sabbath jamming with
Cream and that is a very good description indeed.
Opening track - Rainbow
Of The Ohm Chart - is a forty second heavy instrumental track which
doesn't offer anything new or exciting though that all changes with
the excellent second track - Basic Cable. This song is played at a
deliberate slow pace with the band creating heavy psych moments that
contains quite a gloomy stoner vibe. The lyrics are playful and sweet
but with a darker meaning behind them. Walter impresses the most with
his great vocals. The song becomes distinctively heavier for the
final few moments and it shows that the band know how to play heavier
sounds if the mood calls for it.
Third track - Away From
The Speed - has a more Indie Rock/Garage Rock feel but the band still
retain their dark psychedelic rock identity. It's quite an addictive
sound with almost commercial pop-rock edge. The lyrics make the song
something more deliciously darker than that.
Fourth track - Bad Luck
Child - is one of the albums standout tracks with swirls of punk
driven psychedelic rock seeing the band changing their style of music
again. It's quite groovy in a sixties kind of way. The second half of
the album follows the same path with Dead Heavens showing a keen
interest in more experimental sounds especially on songs such as: The
Moon Listen (But Not The Sun), Adderall Highway and the standout nine
minute track - Gold Tooth.
Whatever Witch You Are
is an intriguing and action packed album despite the short thirty
four minute time. It's expertly produced and offers a refreshing take
on the standard Psych/Stoner Rock template.
Words by Steve
Howe
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