Release Date: 11th September 2020. Record Label: APF Records. Formats: Cassette/CD/DD
Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg - Tracklisting
1 Moorsmen
2 From The Records Of Arthur Shnee
3 No Earthly Form
4 The Ice Melteth
5 Introducing The Brothers Keg
6 Brahman
7 The Army Of The Thirsty Blade Approaches
8 Castle Keg
9 Epilogue
Band Members:
Tom Hobson – guitars, vocals, synth
Paul Rosser – bass guitar
Tom Fyfe – drums, percussion
Review:
This London trio of bards are unearthing their debut album, 'Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg' and it is full of amazing tales about some brothers called Keg. A natural progression from the 2017 demo with the same name, the loud sonic and psychedelic approach they go for on the full-length is akin to fellow Londoners, Spirits Of The Earth, but with a heavier rifforama-filled attack amidst the wonderful trippiness. Formed by the rhythm section from the excellent Stubb, Tom Hobson and Tom Fyfe, but with Hobson switching from bass guitar to guitar, vocals and synth while Fyfe still bashes the skins. Paul Rosser fills out the ranks on bass guitar.
Opening up this expansive and highly interesting collection of tales of the brothers Keg with ‘Moorsmen’ and it couldn’t begin better. After an introductive narrative, this 9 minute-plus blockbuster starts off in mid-tempo before moving perfectly back and forth in pace. After a brief interlude, ‘From The Records Of Arthur Shnee’, the wonderfully trippy, spaced-out and lead-heavy ‘No Earthly Form’ takes over. Building from the ground up it keeps a slower pace throughout but weaves beautifully between serene parts and skull crushing segments. ‘The Ice Melteth’ holds on to the mellow trippiness while the band is aided by Wendy Brown. Her spoken parts reminds me of Julie Covington, as the parsons wife, in Jeff Wayne’s ‘War Of The Worlds’. Wonderful! ‘Introducing The Brothers Keg’ follows in the footsteps of ‘The Ice Melteth’ musically. Mellow, laidback with a fantastic solo leading the way for most of the song. With about a minute and a half left, the band kick into higher gear as they simply annihilates everything in their way.
These guys know how to use narrations in their songs to the fullest effect. At almost 13 minutes, ‘Brahman’ the initial part of this composition is ritualistic, meditative and hypnotic, all thanks to the narration on offer backed by minimalistic music. After a couple of minutes they up the ante somewhat, pace-wise, but still keep it slow and trippy, kind of like Sleep or Om. Bone-crushing and amazing! ‘The Army of The Thirsty Blade Approaches’ is a short interlude with a call to arms which leads into ‘Castle Keg’. Still at a slower pace this one is moving somewhat faster and rocks, as the band lets it all hang down. The aptly titled ‘Epilogue’ closes out this fantastic debut. An eerie, solitary acoustic guitar backs the narrator with a slight wind and some howling in the background which turns out perfectly.
So, what else can be said about The Brothers Keg? Well, ‘Folklore, Myths And Legends Of The Brothers Keg’ couldn’t be a better full-length debut for these guys. Well-crafted, well played and so unrestrained and free-flowing, which in combination with their heaviness, the music is simply brilliant!
Words by Håkan Nyman
Links:
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram