Release Date: September 23rd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Ego Death Safari - Tracklist
1.Not Interested Anymore 08:10
2.Caracal 05:41
3.Go with The Fool (La Noche de Los Búhos) 08:00
4.Godzilla 12:22
Members
Andrea Cima: guitars
Mirko Ciccone: vocals & synth
Fabrizio Paduch: drums and backing vocals
Nico Irace: bass and echoes
Review
Ego Death Safari is the debut album from Psych Stoner Rockers Cult Of Chaga who bring a world weary and supernatural tone to the creative outline to the album which explained by the band themselves below:
“Ego Death Safari” is a shamanic journey into the unconscious of the post-modern man, structured around four ritual stages, each associated with a track. Four animal entities — the Black Devil Fish, the Caracal, the Owl and the Lizard — embody four divine forces that take possession of man on a healing journey through the four human spheres — emotional, material, intellectual and creative/sexual — and the four elements associated with them, in the order of water, earth, air and fire.”
As you can see the record is quite spiritual, ritualistic and quite there but with that aside, Cult Of Chaga have created a thoroughly modern Psychedelic experience that taps into the legendary Stoner Rock scene with some groove orientated Doom Rock and Fuzz Rock passages. There are some great Progressive based elements which delve into the freak-out side of Psychedelic Rock and Classic Rock.
The vocals from Mirk Ciccone are quite hard-hitting with a determined delivery with flashes of Hard Rock independence being his main scope which gives Ego Death Safari a truly aggressive tone. He’s superbly backed up by Fabrizio Paduch who also provides excellent drums along this journey. The record is quite ritualistic with its gloomy synths and shamanic storyline allowing the band to become almost Occult Rock obsessed but still bearing the Stoner Rock/Metal framework. The sound does become slightly off-balance within the tracks Not Interested Anymore and Caracal but it only adds to the great musical experience that Cult Of Chaga brings to the party.
There are great sonic instrumental passages throughout the album that fully develops and explains the out-there story that resides within the album. The record does have a classic sound residing within the production side of things which gives the album such a vibrant and urgent delivery which becomes fully realized within the final two tracks of Go with The Fool (La Noche de Los Búhos) and Godzilla.
The later stages of the record feels inspired by the likes of KYUSS, FU MANCHU and The Obsessed but also superbly different at the same time. Each track offers an exciting different chapter for the story to fully develop. The eerie Cosmic surroundings add a sense of danger into the music which Cult Of Chaga fully taps into and delivers some of the best and most interesting sounds on the whole album.
This isn’t your typical Psychedelic Stoner Rock album but it’s good to see a band like Cult Of Chaga go with an interesting premise for this album. As it’s quite a surreal and out of body experience at times but it’s the thrilling grounded melodies, grooves and sounds that make this album most definitely worth your time.
Words by Steve Howe
Links
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