Bantha Rider - Binary Sunset Massacre (Album Review)

Release date: December 04th 2020. Label: Piranha Music. Format: CD/DD

Binary Sunset Massacre – Tracklisting

1.Binary Sunset Massacre
2.De Wanna Wanga
3.The Gamorrean
4.Boonta Eve
5.Sagittarius
6.Rancor's Delight
7.March of the Banthas
8.Pazuzu

Members

Art - Drums
Chris - Guitar
Bart - Bass

Review

Instrumental Doom/Stoner Metallers Bantha Rider are back with their debut full length album – Binary Sunset Massacre. This album arrives almost 4 years since the band released their debut EP. The band are influenced by the Criminal and Seedy Underworld of Star Wars mythology. The band adapt a purely Instrumental approach to bring their spaced out themes and ideas to life.

So what do we get with Binary Sunset Massacre. We get an album that is a darker version of Karma To Burn with slightly more Progressive sounds and riffs with a healthy dose of Post-Metal attitude allowing the band to stretch further into the realms of Doom Metal.

The album is quite action-packed and moving with different styles of music within the confinements of Stoner Rock with the band adding Desert Rock, Psych Rock and Fuzz Rock to the mix. The song titles are mostly named after certain things and events of Star Wars media and folklore. I only know certain things of Star Wars and I don’t consider myself an expert. There will be folks out there who will get a kick seeing the song titles and enjoying the powerful riffs the band have written here.

Everything is played VERY LOUD and I mean VERY LOUD. Especially when the heavier Desert Rock/Stoner Rock grooves take centre stage and provide a fast-paced journey that sound epic even for Han Solo when trying to break a certain “Parsec” speed record.

The instrumental work is ferocious and does remind myself of KARMA TO BURN in many ways and even PELICAN on the later stages of the song especially on March Of The Banthas and Pazuzu. (I’m assuming they called this song after the character from The Exorcist due to Max Von Sydow appearing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Top marks for merging two different cinematic universes together).

Binary Sunset Massacre is a superbly entertaining album that pushes all the right buttons in providing the listener with a great collection of songs that will even appeal to people hate Star Wars. As the music is always moving forward onto the next hard-hitting riff and the album truly comes alive for myself when the band lose themselves within their own Psychedelic and Spaced Out Madness on songs such as: De Wanna Wanga, The Gamorrean, Rancor’s Delight, March Of The Banthas and Pazuzu.

It’s perhaps the final 3 songs where the band offer the most gloomiest and heaviest songs on the entire album and you’re thankful that J.J. Abrams is nowhere in sight to spoil even more of your precious Star Wars memories from your childhood.

Anyway, I digress. Binary Sunset Massacre is an absolute powerhouse of a record that deserves a moment of your time.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Bantha Rider - S/T (EP Review)

Release date: January 07th 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: DD/Vinyl

Bantha Rider – Self Titled – Tracklisting

1.Sandcrawler 06:19
2.Uta tuta Solo (Greedo's Funeral) 05:58
3.Jawa Juice 08:59
4.Sarlacc's Pit 05:32

Band Members

Bart-bass

Art-drums

Chris-guitar

Review

Bantha Rider are an Instrumental Sludge/Stoner Metal band influenced by Star Wars and Weed. And Why Not I suppose. Star Wars is perhaps one of the greatest movies to create a Sludge/Stoner record upon. It's full of crazy visions, ideas and awesome sounds. Though Bantha Rider take a more sensible approach to their music. So don't go expecting full on crazy lightsabre sounds.

Imagine Karma To Burn venturing into a heavier sci-fi realm and that's what you get with Bantha Rider. It's a very cool EP with the band playing heavy distorted sounds. It flows surprisingly well with the band creating cool riffs of their own. Sandcrawler and Jawa Juice are the two standout tracks here with heavy progressive style sludge/stoner metal. The production is very good indeed though the drumming has a very raw sound which could have done with more work. I'm not criticizing Art's performance. He's a very good drummer indeed and he plays his part in creating an exciting EP to entertain the crowd with.

It would have been cool if the band included some soundclips here and there from the Star Wars Universe. Though the Walt Disney Company will come down on their asses with a huge lawsuit and we don't want that.

If Star Wars ever decided to go down the Weedian/Stoner Route then this is what the soundtrack would be. Heavy distorted and rough as hell with Bantha Rider adding more evidence to the eternal argument – WHO SHOT FIRST? - Han Or Greedo. Though they're definitely on Han Solo's side especially with the second track - Uta tuta Solo (Greedo's Funeral). It's a murky and heavy instrumental affair with it's roots definitely in Sludge Metal territory.

Bantha Rider's debut EP is a great EP to check out. You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this. Just ignore the Star Wars mythology and embrace the heavy Sludge/Stoner Riffs the band have created here. I don't know if Bantha Rider could release a full length album based on Star Wars. Though I would love to be proven wrong. All in all this is an exciting debut EP from the band.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp