Black Acid, Pink Rain – Tracklisting
1.Karma 10:28
2.Floyds I 09:04
3.Floyds II 08:59
4.Duna 09:36
5.Black Acid, Pink Rain 10:55
Members
Jorge Lopes - guitar
Rui Silva - bass
João Costa - drums
Gonçalo Palmas - keyboards
Review
Black Acid, Pink Rain is the debut album from Portuguese Psychedelic Stoner/Desert Rockers – Jesus The Snake. The album is progressive from start to finish with the majority of the songs running between 9 to 10 mins each.
Jesus The Snake are not the most heaviest Stoner/Desert Rock band but they do add a lot of heavy psychedelic sounds to their overall sound. The music can be quite jazzy in places and influenced from the 60s/70s Psychedelic Rock scene. Though I can hear a deep Yawning Man influence on certain parts of the album.
Opening song – Karma – is a mixture of different styles such as Psych Rock, Desert Rock, Stoner Rock, Jazz with the band keen to experiment with their sound from the start. The hazy psychedelic riffs can be too “freaky” to hear at times and the song does take an age to fully get moving. The song has too many stop-start moments for own personal tastes. As the song builds upto an exciting part and the band pull back and play a different style of music. However, this is still a highly confident song with the band showing what accomplished musicians they actually are.
Second song – Floyds I – is another “Jazz” style song with Psychedelic Stoner/Desert Rock grooves making their appearance known early from the start. Jesus The Snake add a more soothing “Ambient” style vibe to this song with the 60s Psychedelic Heavy Rock riffs allowing the song to grow naturally. The second half of the song is a lot more faster and the band play a grittier 70s Hard Rock sound that allows the listener to become part of the action.
Third song – Floyds II – sees the band continue with their “slow-paced” delivery with the familiar Psychedelic Stoner/Desert Rock sounds slowly taking their time to fully appear. When the Heavy Riffs appear then all hell breaks loose and Jesus The Snake create some of the heaviest and most exciting parts of the album entirely on this song alone.
The final two songs – Duna and Black Acid, Pink Rain – are both superbly written songs and once again take time to for the heavier moments appear. That’s been the main theme for this album and I applaud Jesus The Snake for remaining true to their artistic vision.
This album won’t be for everyone and is perhaps best suited to people who enjoy their Instrumental Stoner Rock being a lot more experimental compared to other bands of the genre.
Overall, Black Acid, Pink Rain is a damn good album and you should give it a listen if you want something different from the standard Desert Rock/Stoner Rock sound.
Words by Steve Howe
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