Release Date: January 28th 2022. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Format: DD/CD/Vinyl
Blinded By The Wicked - Tracklisting
1. In The Night Of The Light, For The Dark
2. Devil's Spawn
3. Ethereal Disillusion
4. Sectatores Et Principes
5. Ceremonial Aspersion
6. Divine Harlotry
7. Luciferian Rite
8. Malevolent Inveigler
Members
Ludvig Andersson - Guitar/Vocals
Nils Einéus - Drums
Estefan Carrillo - Bass
Review
Swedish Doom/Stoner Metallers Hazemaze waste no time in getting down to business of playing wickedly entertaining style of Seedy and Fuzz Driven grooves on their new album Blinded By The Wicked. Their first new full length album in three years and the first for their new label Heavy Psych Sounds. The album has that classic BLACK SABBATH sound merged with Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats seedy Occult Stoner Rock tones. Hazemaze operate in the classic world of Doom Rock/Metal and also the world of modern Fuzz/Stoner Rock with deliciously twisted results.
The album moves along at a cracking pace with shades of Classic Rock appearing on the excellent opening track In The Night Of The Light For The Dark. Screeching guitars and vintage based vocals allows Hazemaze to bring their own Occult Rock attitude to the Doom/Stoner Rock masses. The atmosphere is built upon GLOOMY lyrics that capture the true OCCULT ROCK spirit. The FUZZY Guitars have shades of IOMMI RIff Worship to them but with a small Stoner Rock/Metal flavour to give it more musical bite. The song does capture the 70s Doom Rock environment that many classic bands made their reputation from but with these guys being Swedish, you can also hear that classic Swedish Hard Rock/Metal swagger.
Second song Devil’s Spawn sees Hazemaze drift further into their Doom Metal odyssey with flashes of 60s style Psych Classic Occult Rock with almost AMPLIFIER WORSHIP levels of free-flowing Stoner Rock/Metal. The song also has a kick-ass Psychedelic element that can be quite spacey in places even with the Occult vibes of both the song and the album. The vocals remain firmly in the 70s Old-School of Doom Rock. Another great song that can be quite loud in certain places.
Third song Ethereal Disillusion shows the listener the bleak message of the whole album and Hazemaze just thrive bringing a bleaker style of Doom/Stoner Metal. The lyrics are very straight to the point with the music having a certain creative style to them. This song feels inspired by 60s/70s Classic Hard Rock bands such as CREAM or Blue CHeer with it’s free-flowing based riffs and when the guitar solos play the meaty sounds it’s the epic BASS LINE that’s the standout part of the song.
Fourth song is called Sectatores Et Principes which is beautifully played and shows a different side to Hazemaze that I wish they explored a little bit more. Still great to see a different side to the band,
There’s eight tracks on the album and I’ve only described the first half of the album in great detail. This should tell all you need to know on what to expect with the album. The album is a clever mix of different styles of Doom/Stoner Rock that fuses other areas of Hard Rock but keeping everything on the right side of Occult Rock.
Other standout songs include: Ceremonial Aspersion, Luciferian Rite and Malevolent Inveigler.
The production is excellent which you would expect this being a Heavy Psych Sounds release. The album does a wonderful job of showcasing the many different eras and timelines of music held on the album.
Blinded By The Wicked is Hazemaze's best album to date with the record being a thrilling and superbly outlandish spectacle of Doom/Stoner Metal.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Blinded By The Wicked will be released on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Jan 28th 2022.
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