Saturday 27 January 2018

GRAJO - Slowgod II (Album Review)


Release date: 15th January 2018. Label: Various. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

SLOWGOD II – Tracklisting

1.Altares 08:38
2.Queen Cobra 04:37
3.Malmuerta 04:53
4.Ǝr 07:12
5.Horror & Pleasure 04:53
6.Malstrøm 08:05

Members

Liz: Voices
Josef: Guitars & Theremin
Félix: Drums
Pistolo: Bass

Review

I never found the time to review Grajo's debut album back in 2016. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice with Slowgod II. This is a psychedelic wonderland of different noises ranging from Doom, Space Rock, Sludge and Stoner Rock. Grajo have created a true out of world sound with flourishes of Blues Rock that come mostly from their immensely talented lead singer Liz.

Opening song – Altares – starts off very slowly before the heavy sludgy guitars from Josef and the pummelling bass from Pistolo. Taking influence from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard at times, Grajo slowly evolve into their own sound with the hollow psychedelic droned out vibes keeping the mood vibrant and slightly moody. The song has a cool sounding “shoegaze” effect that slowly disappears when the distorted sound effects appear.

Second track – Queen Cobra – is a real Sludge/Stoner Rock number with fast-paced grooves and a hard-rocking Blues vibe. Liz takes centre stage yet again with another superb vocal performance. This is a very different song to the opening track and it shows Grajo have enhanced their sound since their debut album.

Third track – Malmuerta – opens with trippy psychedelic Middle Eastern vibe and sees Grajo experiment with their sound yet again. It's a beautifully played and soulful number. The heavy riffs do take their time to appear but when they do, Grajo offer a more reflective and emotional doom and gloom atmosphere.

The final 3 songs Ǝr, Horror & Pleasure and Malstrøm offer more of the same psychedelic spaced out sounds. With Ǝr and Malstrøm being the main highlights on the second half of the album. The production is superbly solid throughout. The music is loud and crisp. Liz proves what a fantastic vocalist she is on each of the songs on the album. Though credit must also goto Josef, Felix and Pistolo for creating a sublime hard-rocking atmosphere that expertly blends the different elements of Doom, Sludge, Psych and Stoner Metal into one glorious sounding experience.

Slowgod II is a thrilling and exciting album that proves without a doubt that Grajo are one of the scenes best kept secrets. Though I expect bigger and better things will be coming to Grajo real soon.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Cassette (Limited to 50 copies with a alternative cover) by Spinda Records
Vinyl (coming soon) by DHU Records.

Links:

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