Tuesday 5 December 2017

Purple Dino - And Now What (Album Review)


Release date: December 14th 2017. Label: Vault Relics. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

And Now What - Tracklisting

1.Soul on Fire
2.Her Ride
3.2day
4.Show Me
5.Isolated
6.Out Of Me
7.Unknown Destination

Members

Kosmas Ristas - THE frontman and all
Doukas Kostoglou - guitars and beer
Mitsos Angelakis - drums with extra cowbell
Stef Dimou - bass and weird noises

Review

Greek Stoner Rockers Purple Dino return with a new album called - And Now What. This album sees the band changing their style of music ever so slightly with influences diverse as TOOL making a welcome appearance. It's still the familiar Desert/Punk/Stoner Rock sounds of the band but the music is very progressive and experimental in places.

The opening track - Soul On Fire - feels that Purple Dino are back to normal business of creating high energy Desert/Stoner Rock. That maybe for this song but enjoy it while it lasts as the band start to create a more daring and adventurous sound.

Second track - Her Ride - opens with a jazz based riff before moving on to a wilder and looser style of Stoner Rock/Metal. The song does take it's time in finding it's groove and can feel lacklustre at times but the band try their hand at new sounds on this track. The vocals from Kosmas offer a heavy mixture of different styles that is matched superbly well with the music. The music is your familiar style of Desert /Stoner Rock but at least Purple Dino add a more progressive groove with psychedelic noises appearing throughout.

Third track - 2day - sees Purple Dino opt for a Gonzo-Surf-Punk-Psych sound. It's a very cool sound which does take some time to fully become accustomed to. When the heavy Stoner sounds appear, Purple Dino become a more focused and intriguing band. This is where the band start to experiment with the sound on their album with the band taking influence from RATM as the song becomes more aggressive with each passing second.

The other songs of the album sees Purple Dino take a more experimental approach as they embrace elements of Noise Rock, Punk, Psych, Prog Rock and even Thrash. Songs such as Show Me and Isolated sees the album become ever more darker and progressive. The last two songs on the album Out Of Me and Unknown Destination is perhaps the band have taken the biggest creative risks with the album. As the album transforms into a heavier progressive sound that you would expect from TOOL and not a band such as Purple Dino.

The band touch upon some hard hitting subject matters. It shouldn't really work but the band show a real dynamic flair of merging the different sounds held on the album. This is still primarily a Stoner Metal album but Purple Dino prove that it doesn't have to follow the standard route that other bands seem to follow. Purple Dino have embraced a more daring approach on this album.

The album cover can be very misleading as if you're expecting a jovial and upbeat Stoner Metal album then you may walk away highly disappointed. Purple Dino maybe worried what long-time fans of the band may think of their new sound. I would tell them there's nothing to worry about. As this album manages to contain the familiar sounds the band has become well known for. However be prepared to expect a more experimental sound that may take a few listens to fully appreciate.

The production is handled superbly well as the album sounds angry and loud from the start. And Now What is an album that surprised myself in so many different ways. Purple Dino have struck gold with this record. It may not be to everyone's tastes though this is still an album that could enhance Purple Dino's reputation onto greater heights.

Words by Steve Howe

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