Release Date: October 17th 2025. Record Label: Kernel Panic Records. Formats: DD
The Storyteller - Tracklisting
1.Sunset Kiss
2.Last Man Standing
3.She Said
4.Good Guy With A Gun
5.Intermission
6.Give It Away
7.The End
8.A.N.G.R.Y
9.Only The Dead
10.Lockdown Blues
11.TV Monsters
Review
The Storyteller is the second full length album from Psych/Alt-Rock/Stoner Rockers Computers Kill People and it’s their first album in ten years ever since their debut album Silence Means Security. I remember listening to that album back in 2015 and I was impressed by the band’s mix of Fuzz, Psych, Alt-Rock and Stoner Rock melodies set against contemporary themes. The band continue that style of music and cinematic vision with a record that essentially taps into the Nineties Alt-Rock/Stoner Metal scenes with deep love, respect and fascination where it’s given a modern day makeover.
Computers Kill People offer a brilliantly “HIP” style of Stoner Rock that sees them closely aligned to modern day QOTSA with flashes of bands such as FU MANCHU, CLUTCH and SLOMOSA. Though, don’t forget the flashes of Alt-Rock energy that perhaps holds everything together. The vocals are delivered with an old-school swagger and you can hear traces of JOSH HOMME appearing here and there.
The band have brought out the big guns for the production of this album as Étienne Sarthou (Karras, Freitot, ex-AqME) on mixing and Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna) on mastering. So top marks for getting that talent on board and this does allow the album to sound HUGE and SUPERB throughout.
The tracks that make up The Storyteller vary in style and substance with Computers Kill People changing their identity throughout. There’s some absolute Stoner Rock bangers on the album with tracks such as Sunset Kiss and Last Man Standing delivering storming grooves that will appeal to fans of FU MANCHU, KYUSS and QOTSA. However, wait till you here the third track of She Said which starts off as a bittersweet Post-Grunge and Alt-Rock anthem that has similarities to The Smashing Pumpkins and Spacehog before the add a gritty Sludge Rock dynamic that leads into some unexpected areas of Psychedelic heaviness.
From this moment on, Computers Kill People make BIG and BOLD creative choices with their music that handsomely pays off with sublime grooves and powerful melodies throughout on standout tracks such as Good Guy With A Gun, The End, A.N.G.R.Y, Lockdown Blues and TV Monsters. Expect elements of Doom, Grunge and Shoegaze to appear with the band channelling ALICE IN CHAINS but doing this in their own unique way.
There's even a KILLER cover of Red Hot Chili Peppers classic "GIVE IT AWAY". It doesn't stray far too much from the original but it's good to hear a sublime Alt-Rock/Stoner Rock take on such a classic track. The vocals are a bit more outrageous and the instrumental passages do sound like Rage Against The Machine at times. I'll probably get shot down for that description but I'm just saying how I feel from listening to the track.
The Storyteller takes you on a musical journey that you don’t expect and the band undertake multiple musical transformations which makes the impact of this record even more highly profound. Computers Kill People have a lot to say and they deliver this with an outstanding record that deserves your full undivided attention.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Vous Connaissez ? PR for the promo.
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