Release
date: October
11th
2019. Label: Nuclear
Blast. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
For
The Dead Travel Fast
– Tracklisting
The
End
The
Devil’s Master
Evil
Forces
Children
of the Night
Dancing
With the Dead
Poison
Demons
In My Mind
Saturnales
Long
Forgotten Songs
Members
Christoph
‘Lupus’ Lindemann / Vocals, Guitars
Christoph
‘Tiger’ Bartelt / Drums
Simon
‘Dragon’ Bouteloup / Bass
Review
This
October we have bestowed upon us the fifth full length from Berlin’s
masters of retro fuzz doom Kadavar. The immensely impressive For The Dead Travel Fast unleashes 9 smoking tracks of fuzzed out bliss. At
this point, most should be familiar with Kadavar’s sound, the trio
sound as though they stepped right out of an early 70’s recording
studio. Equal parts Sabbath, ELO, early Maiden and ZZ Top the bands
retro sound is second to none. But what sets this record apart from,
or perhaps ahead of, their prior records is the top notch song
writing. The 9 tracks are a dark, cohesive story that takes the
listener down a doomed path of misery, longing, and death. The
imagery is rich and superb.
The
End
opens
the record. It starts off in a rather unsettling manner with damn
near a minute of silence that has you checking to see if the song is
actually playing before closing with a guitar driven lament that
leads directly into the powerful imagery and stomp of The
Devil’s Master.
A
killer track that showcases all aspects of the bands sound and their
knack for an amazing chorus that hooks the listener and refuses to
let go. Evil
Forces
follows
with an intense riff right out of late era Sabbath or early Maiden or
Priest that carries the strongest track on the record. I found myself
singing “Evil Forces are close behind” to myself for days on end.
The
track closes with one of the most righteous solos the trio have ever
unleashed upon the world. The tempo slows a bit as the Children
of the Night
comes
crawling out of your speakers. However, it doesn’t take long for
the band to pick things up in this ode to the legion of the undying.
The song flexes the bands musical might with some more heavy solos
and a couple of tempo changes that drive the song home. Dancing
With the Dead
continues
the vampiric theme with a driving drum beat and some sweet vibrato
throughout this mid-tempo jewel. A heavy dose of fuzz and drums sends
Poison
flying
towards your jugular with a righteous dose of anti establishment
angst and a late 60s rock chorus.
A
fuzzed out wah brings the Demons
In My Mind
next.
A driving lament to insanity that never relents until giving way to
the ethereal sounds of Saturnales.
A dark but, dare I say, Beach Boys-esque sounding guitar and
dissonance filled track that is devoid of percussion. The record
closes with Long
Forgotten Song,
an ultra heavy closer with a true classic rock feel. At over 7
minutes the band blends big riffs, big drums and some beautiful
harmonies on this bluesy masterpiece.
For
The Dead Travel Fast is full on big beards, bell bottoms, fuzz filled
Sabbath worship at its absolute finest. Kadavar have hit every chord
perfectly in blending the warm fuzz filled tones with the darkest
images of the soul and mind. If for some reason you aren’t familiar
with the band, this record is a great jumping on point and for those
that are long time fans (like myself) this is another feather in the
cap in the band’s already impressive resume. It is quite possibly
their finest hour. I can’t recommend this one enough! Dig super
heavy on this one!
Words by Todd Stealey
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