Tag Archives: Psychedelic Rock

High Fighter – “Scars & Crosses” (Svart)

Posted by Fraggle on

high20fighter20scars2020crosses202020202020album20front20cover_20by20dominic20sohorHigh Fighter are a five piece doomy sludge band from Hamburg, one of the busiest places in Europe. As Germany’s Equivalent to Amsterdam in terms of the culture and party-like atmosphere of certain districts and areas, the city is also a hotbed of musical activity and given it’s proximity to Wacken, its no surprise many metal bands love to go there, be it touring or passing through it on the way to one of the most celebrated (and extremely divisive) festivals on offer. With some real praise being lauded on them, by the likes of Conan, arguably the biggest doom band currently active right now, John Garcia, a pioneer of stoner rock and various media outlets such as the iconic Sludgelord, big things are expected from this band. Let us see if these guys can fight their way up high.

“A Silver Heart” opens the album up with an initially lightly distorted progression before the dirt kicks in. Rich distortion, deep rumbling bass and steady drums going at a slow pace shift to a lone guitar riff before it kicks in. The bass is clear as it rings out under the hazy, hypnotic and melodic progressions which roll off the guitar with little fuss. Vocally, its clean with a solid tone, occasionally lapsing into the harshness where required and with a very similar feel to the delivery of Mike Patton. As the track progresses there are some slight rhythmic shifts and little rapid drum fills but it maintains that steady pace with ease. The bluesy lead break goes down a treat with some sublime sounding licks and the descent into the heavily spaced out musically and vocally  raw section makes for a great end. In all, an intriguing opening effort.

“Darkest Days” follows and it is more upbeat than the previous one. With a real rocking groove and infectious melodic hook, it has a great stoner vibe to it. Subtle in the verse with rich vocals and a warm bass tone, it gets a little rawer towards the chorus. With plenty of hypnotic and surreal feel, the mid section has a great progression from clear to murky in both vocals and sound. The subtle lead melody, hidden behind the sea of clashing symbols and fuzz surfaces from time to time, punctuated by the growled vocals and as an ending, it does the job well, leaving the track to fade into some heavy breathing and scraping sample noises.

“The Gatekeeper” comes in with its phaser-laden guitar intro. The swirling effect is delivered well as it adds a surreal edge before the bass and drums come in, thickening the sound up well. Slow and steady paced, the verse goes down easy with its simple beat and the vocals have a hazy feel about them. Darkening for the pre-chorus, with some sludge styled harsh vocals, it gets heavier before taking a more melodic and fuller sound in the chorus. Bringing back the phaser, the second verse gets that surreal edge again and the reverb on the vocals just adds that little bit extra before the sludge to melody shift happens again. The hard hitting riff section follows this, speeding up a little and bringing a pseudo-Sabbathian sound before the big build up moment which results in a great sounding classic rock influenced lead with wild wah and fuzz to round the sound out for a solid ending which drifts into a howl of feedback.

“Blinders” has a quick paced intro. With a bouncing feel, a real booming bassline and fuzzed out main riff, it brings the sludge side right out. The harsh vocal delivery hits hard and as it slows to a steadier paced delivery, the vocals clean back up just in time to transition back to the sludge laden groove feel again. With a subtle melodic lesd hook and surreal sounds courtesy of effect use, it comes alive once more before going into the rawness once more. The simple structure and alternating from sludge to melodic in terms of delivery works great and just like before, the howl of feedback signals the end of the track and the first half of the album.

Opening up the second half of the album, “Portrait Gods” hits with a heavy, pounding riff. Heavy on the groove, the vocals really ring out on this one, shifting from raw and harsh growls to soft and expressive cleans with little effort required whilst the riffing sounds like an extremely heavy ‘Welcome To Sky Valley’ era-Kyuss. With ringing out muddy cleans and fat fuzz laden monstrous riffs full over power, it really hits the spot. Not too fast, not too slow, not too overpowering but with plenty of bite where needed and a touch of spaced out for good measure. It’s a joy to behold and the trippy, almost psychedelic solo with the massive wah and phaser use is tremendous!

“Gods” keeps with the more stoner frock friendly sound whilst still containing that power of the doom riff. This time coming off more ‘Blues For The Red Sun’ era-Kyuss meets Fu Manchu, it lays on the fuzz and infectious feel and groove. Subtle lead melodies work in harmony with the vocals, rounding out the sound and giving a twin-headed approach, the power and groove of the riffs and rhythm facing off with the hypnotic delivery of the vocals and hook laden lead. Heavy enough to still maintain links to the doomier side of their sound with the thick sound from the guitar and bass, but having the real rocking flow of the stoner end of the spectrum, its a well balanced track which holds up well.

“Down To The Sky” has an intricate clean intro which flicks to distortion quickly. The slow pace, ringing arpeggios and deep bass create a warm feel reminiscent of Goatess, precariously teetering on the edge of Sabbathian styled doom but having more of a psychedelic edge to it. Heavy but not overpowering, the sound is fantastic with a real depth and fullness to it. The steady pace and powerful vocal delivery works like a charm. The pace allows for some headbanging if needed, but sitting back to appreciate whilst nodding along works well. In the mid section there is a touch of harshness to the vocals but the way the riffs hit with some melodic kicks here and there is what really caps it off. The frenzied wah solo kicks it up a gear as it rips through the steady pace, giving it a more balls out approach which comes in at just the right time. Honestly, this is the best track on the album by far!

Closing the album is “Scars & Crosses”. With a Bill Ward styled drum pattern, it goes into a real raw sounding wah laden lead and you guessed it – right into Sabbathian doom territory. With a brisk pace, a real bite to the snarling guitar tone, this one is a real live-wire. Rough around the edges vocals with some harshness at points cap the faster sections whilst the simple hypnotic main riff hammers away. The lead fills and melodies keep the frenzy going and the shifting from rapid to steady with the pace and delivery is balanced well. Carefully crafted, this track does well to draw on the whole album but adding even more in its final minutes. Solid riffs, great lead progressions, rumbling bass and tremendous drums, this has all the makings of a cracking live track and it serves as a fitting curtain call on an impressive debut full length.

As evident by my review, this album is clearly one of two clear halves. The first half is more orientated to the doomier and sludge side of the musical spectrum whilst the second half, my personal favourite leans more towards the stoner and Sabbathian school of doom with a hefty dose of psychedelic quality added for good measure. When both halves are combined, it gives a well rounded recording which touches on all bases, satisfying fans of all kinds of doom and its sub-genres whilst sounding fresh and unique.

The lavish praised heaped upon Hamburg’s High Fighter is warranted and I highly suggest you should see what the fuss is for yourselves!

(8.5/10, Fraggle)

http://www.facebook.com/highfighter

Goatess – Purgatory Under New Management (SVART)

Posted by Fraggle on

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Doom is such a wonderful genre. It ranges from the depths of despair with the crushing, monolithic walls of sound which accompany funeral doom to the groove laden, raw and rocking feeling of stoner doom and of course, Black Sabbath’s ‘trinity of doom’ albums from 1971-1973 (Master Of Reality, Volume 4 and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath). The sonic landscape within this genre is vast and there is so much to choose from. Sure, bands like Sleep, Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus, Church Of Misery, Pentagram and other notable names stand out and you can add Goatess to that list.

Formed in 2009 by Vocalist Christus (Christoff Linderson, Lord Vicar, ex-Saint Vitus,) and Guitarist Niklas in Stockholm, the band were conceived with the notion that their music would be more about the ‘power of the riff’ – taking a guitar or bass riff and expanding on it, creating a massive soundscape and atmosphere. The result ended up in their self-titled debut ‘Goatess’, released in 2013 on Svart Records and the best way to describe it would be psychedelic stoner-doom metal. Full of wonderful riffs and captivating and mind bending sounds, this album received high praise and three years later with a slightly changed line up, Goatess return once again to blow our minds. With Purgatory apparently being under new management, let us see how it fares under this new stewardship.

The slow, melodic descending guitar line with a warm and rich bass tone opens up “Moth To Flame” and almost instantly you are sucked into it. The subtle drums give it some slam kind of timing whilst the stringed section slowly encircles you and when Christus’ vocals kick in, everything just transforms. Delivered softly with a real remarkable sound, the vocals combine with the music behind them to create a hypnotic effect. Emotive and expressive, the music slowly begins to build up momentum giving a great feel to it and then it happens… Two minutes in, the riff kicks in as the clean, melodic section reaches its crescendo and to put it bluntly.. Fuck!

The fantastic tone is just something beautiful. Rich fuzz and perfectly balanced, the guitar riff brings the bass and drums to build up more and what results is a full on groove which opens up a new feeling and forces you to surrender yourself to it. With more power behind the vocals this time, they have a real hook to them as Christus’ delivery paints a vivid picture with the music bringing it to life. It’s not heavy as such, but the pounding feel and intensity is massive and you just find yourself caught up in it. Before you know it, you’re at the later stages of the track and the riffs become slightly darker and heavier and a sense of urgency and franticness appears, bringing with it some wild guitar sounds and dramatic, powerful vocals, really shaking it up before it subsides and fades out. What an opening track!!!

Title track, “Purgatory Under New Management” follows next and it starts off with a slow, building drone-like riff under a spoken word sample about the assimilation of paganism into Christianity. As this builds up and sets the scene, the drums and bass come in to build it up some more and the sound of the bass is delightful, clear in the mix and with a great tone! Progressing through the track, it begins to get heavier as the vocals bring the lyrics to life, creating another hypnotic effect over an intricate guitar lead melody and much like the previous track, it builds in intensity and atmosphere before getting more distorted, heavier and intense, resulting in an intricate guitar and drum heavy section to end the track!

With a title which is a clever play on the widely known ‘Murphy’s Law’ which is often the go to explanation for pessimists and realists, “Murphy Was An Optimist” is the next track on this album. Opening up with a real driving feel, the solid riff and drums are accompanied by a booming bassline, creating a steady pulse which is perfect to headbang to whilst the vocals are solid and help push the track on. The riff changes throughout the track, in parts it becomes more melodic for the guitar parts, in others the bassline becomes more melodic but whatever approach it takes, it still maintains that headbanging pulse, the whole idea behind Goatess and their musical vision – create the riff then build the atmosphere around it. Be it the hypnotic feel sections later on in the track or the rumbling and melodic lines earlier on, the simple structure of this track appears so massive because of the little touches the band add to create the atmosphere and the simplistic lead line which ends the song caps it all nicely.

Instrumental track, “Crocodillians And Other Creepy Crawly shh…..” is your typical ‘out there’ moment of the album and not just because of its title. The track consists of a slow, doomy riff which grows in volume and presence, accompanied by a hypnotic wah-laden bassline and steady drums all underneath some samples from a wildlife documentary… Yeah… Anyway, it is hypnotic and captivating. The way the bass’s rich tone and then the intricate clean licks of the guitar combine, it has a real surreal quality to it and as it gets heavier once more, surging and swirling effects really bring it to life, making it the musical equivalent of mushrooms or other hallucinogenic substances!

 

Bringing us back to reality so to speak, “Shadowland” can be described in four simple words – ‘All Hail The Riff!”. With a sound reminiscent of the ‘doomy’ Sabbath era, this track sounds fantastic and would easily fit in with the likes of ‘Sweat Leaf’, ‘Snowblind’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ in the musical department. Vocally, its slightly darker and more ominous to the other tracks and as usual Christus’ delivery brings it all to life. With great timing, excellent delivery and memorable hooks across the track, this is just one to lose yourself in. Round the 3:30 point, we get the iconic ‘lone guitar riff’ moment which leads to a thunderous sounding section which is massive in all elements. Pounding basslines and solid drums lay down a huge sounding foundation for the guitar to freely express itself with a unique solo which has a surreal edge to it before the riffs come back once more.

“Silent War” takes us away from the altar of Iommi and into a spookier place. With a thick basslineand swirling sample, it goes into a real heavy riff underpinned by a steady pulse and coated with a powerful presence. With slightly hazy vocals coming and going between the clear deliveries, it further increases the unease about the track and the solid, chugging riffs give a great groove to it. Round the 5:30 section, there is a huge wah-laden guitar riff which really builds the track up, leading it into a huge sounding section. With a rich and boomy bassline, great vocal work, captivating drums and hypnotic guitar lines, it keeps you in its trance before a real slick and delightful guitar solo blows you away, giving the track a real magical edge.

“Wrath Of God” is the penultimate track and it will consume you. With a rich sounding clean intro laced with a melodic quality, the guitars ring out wonderfully whilst the bassline drives it on and the intricate drum patterns lock it all down to a steady pace. It picks up as the vocals come in and round the 2:20 part, we get a big kick as the distorted section comes in with a real thick sound but it isn’t as overpowering as you would anticipate. Going back to the clean sound, it gets hypnotic once again and as expected, it distorts once more, bringing in a real headbanging feel section before the vocals trail off as a melodic guitar lead takes over. Shifting once more, a hypnotic wah-laden bass heavy section follows with subtle vocals and here is where reality starts to slip away. A clean lead is accompanied by ‘Ahhh’ like backing vocals and subtle synths which all create a fantastic and epic sound and atmosphere. From here, it’s just a case of sit back and enjoy as the leads guide you through to another distorted section, backed up and in places, augmented by the backing vocals and synth, it hits with real power and honestly, this track right here is the best way to describe why you need this album!

Closing the album is “Good Moaning” and it’s back to a more groove-orientated feel. With its heavy, steadily thumping rhythm section and muted guitar chugs, it has a powerful edge which is only amplified by the enticing vocal delivery. Changing feel slightly, the riff alters the pace of the track and switches it to a pounding feel before shifting back again, all the while retaining its thunderous feel and delivery, giving it a real heavy sound. Constantly riddled with subtle changes, it keeps flowing smoothly and draws the album to a close.

Overall, this is a phenomenal release. Laden with great riffs, captivating and hypnotic sensations, a massive sound and atmosphere which just takes you away and blows your mind, Goatess have managed to create a masterpiece here which ranks up there with the best of them. Purgatory is under new management and if this is any indication, Purgatory sounds like a wonderful place to visit! Even though we’re only in the first half of the year, Goatess could very well have released album of the year!

(10/10 Fraggle)

https://www.facebook.com/baldersounds

Seer – “Volume 1 & 2” (Art Of Propaganda)

Posted by Fraggle on

seer-vol1and2

Seer are a doom band with some serious sludge and psychedelic influences. Hailing from the Pacific coast of Canada, the sound the guys come out with is just as massive as the expanse they hail from. A two-part release, Volume 1 & 2 promises a surreal journey through the vast expanse with some serious sonic landscapes to traverse and many challenges to whether ranging from intense to heavy to ominous and discomforting. Perhaps named in tribute to the guys who started it all, Black Sabbath, Seer are certainly ready to unleash something special and with a raft of guest musicians to make this possible, we can only hope the two parter makes one complete piece.

Opening up with “Glimmervoid”, a wall of colossal sounding riffs backed up with some booming bass kicks things off and the slightly hazy, spaced out vocal delivery gives it a real ominous and surreal edge. Shifting into a fantastic groove laden section, the vocals get harsher, taking a real sludge-like edge to them before it quickly slips into the powerfully delivered chorus. The ‘bouncy’ feeling riff with a great tone and clean vocals once again come in, changing the pace slightly, and this approach continues throughout the track, slipping from slow paced to thick and heavy groove, clean and trippy singing to real harsh roars. It’s a simple exploit of dynamics, but it works fantastically. As the track continues, it gets heavier and there are some wonderful sounding riff sections and some real heavy pounding moments, all leading up to a dramatic and intensely heavy ending which eases off into some howling feedback to draw the track to a close.

“Hive Mind” is a steady paced, dissonant feeling and huge sounding track. With a melodic lead over a pulsing drone-like rhythm, it has a hypnotic quality to it. The clean hazy vocals return and as they float across the riffs, the rich and booming bass really shines, acting almost as a counter melody to the vocal progression. Guitar-wise, it sounds similar to Sleep’s ‘Dopesmoker’ with the harsh and powerful droning tone and it certainly hits like it in parts – a huge wall of distorted noise and roared vocals near the mid-section is both captivating and intimidating, very similar to Conan in some ways. Some real filthy riffs round the 4:30 mark lead into a slick solo which brings in a frantic feel which in turn leads to more feedback which acts as the curtain call for part 1 of the release.

The second part, “Volume 2” opens up with “Cosmic Ghost”. With some samples of wind blowing over a vast empty expanse backing up a clean acoustic guitar which has some droning to it, it has a real atmospheric feel to it. The vocals are cleanly delivered with that spaced out edge once again. The added string sections add an extra edge and the spaced out chanting like vocals of the slightly droning acoustic guitar really creates a relaxing feel, even as the distortion subtly begins to creep in halfway through. As the distortion grows, the slow and steady pace with acoustic layering remains, keeping it more restrained than the previous tracks.

“Haunter” opens up with a Sleep styled riff before really kicking in. Massive sounding and almost crushing in the delivery, the thunderous pounding just hammers away at a mesmerizing pace. The hazy vocals are layered just behind the pounding musical onslaught, almost lost in the noise and this mixing trick works to good effect, making you fully immerse yourself in the sonic landscape the track has created just to hear it. Luring you in and taking hold, it puts you under its spell, smothering you with the distortion and the wild almost atonal guitar solo before going into a harmonized riff section which acts as a slight reprieve before it goes more atonal and even heavier, pummeling you with harshness which persists until the end.

“Antibody” is the penultimate track and it has a more Black Sabbath feel to its intro riff. With more of a kick to it but still retaining the heavier edge of Haunter, it powers along with a great headbanging pace, bringing some up-tempo doom styled riffery with some great vocal harsh moments in the right places to really kick it in. With more precise and dissonant sounding leads over thundering rhythms, it embodies chaos whilst still having a solid groove and it sets up for the closing track quite well. “Aeons” brings a dramatic sounding close to the album. Howling wind samples with some atonal sounding chords and bass bring the track slowly in, almost mimicking a bell tolling. Slowly progressing, it has a very unsettling feel to it and this persists throughout. Some small melodic melody lines and heavily effects-laden vocals fade in an out, toying with the listener and keeping them on edge, anticipating the explosion of noise. Except this explosion doesn’t come. Instead it stays like this before slowly trailing off into silence, giving a strange and uneasy end to a strange album.

Overall, “Volume 1 & 2” is a fascinating release. The intensely heavy opening double of Volume 1 brings the intensity and despite some slight dips into this sound in “Volume 2”, the later quadruplet of tracks are more atmospheric and bring a different kind of intensity. One favours noise whilst two favours toying with the senses. Starting off with a harsh and heavy variant of sludge-laden doom, it evolves into a full on psychedelic sludge-doom hybrid which keeps you under its spell for the whole duration of the album. Head on into the Glimmervoid and follow the Seer.

(7/10 Fraggle)

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Jess And The Ancient Ones – “The Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes” (Svart)

Posted by Fraggle on

jess-and-the-ancient-ones-second-psychedelic-coming-cd Psychedelic six-piece Jess And The Ancient Ones (now refered to as JATAO from here out) hail from Kuopio, Finland and well, they prove that once again, if you want some brilliant music, look no further than the northern reaches of Europe. Scandanavia has always been a hotbed for great music – it was the birthplace of the melodic death metal scene, it helped augment the notoriety of black metal and some of the best doom acts hail from the frostbitten northern countries. Now we can add Psychedelic Rock to the list. The eagerly awaited follow up to their debut full length in 2011 and EP in 2013, “The Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes” (Now refered to as The Aquarius Tapes from here out) promises so much. Let us see just what the second coming sounds like.

“Samhain” opens the album and right away, it’s like stepping back into the early 70’s. A blend of mysticism and classic rock with plenty of flair and dramatic vocal work combines fantastically. Blending sounds which can be likened to The Doors, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and the mighty Blue Öyster Cult, it is a storming rock and roll boogie filled track with plenty of trippy vibes emanating from it. With a real retro-rock boogie feel, full of swagger and flair in the delivery, the six piece really throw out a captivating track to begin with. The organ which sits just ontop of the vocals and guitar work really brings it to life and the power in the vocals really brings the track to life, especially with the big, dramatic Jim Morrison-esque belted out vocal sections near the end of the track.

“The Flying Man” brings a shade of Hendrix to the album. With its wah-soaked guitar and massive drum roll into a more darker and slower paced track, it is full of atmosphere. Once again, the lead guitar fills and organ add that extra edge to the track as they dance their way across it whilst the solid rhythm section and vocals really carry the track, hammering it home. Flair filled blues fills turn into a full blown tasty bluesy feel guitar solo and not to be outdone, the bass even gets in on the lead melody and has some soloing of its own towards the end which leads into the powerful final chorus with a real massive big vocal outro.

“In Levitating Secret Dreams” we get the pomp and bite of Blue Öyster Cult – trippy feeling rock and roll. With call and response styled vocals over a lightly overdriven rhythm, flowing classic styled lead and hypnotic drums, it takes hold like the early 70’s BÖC sound. Wild sounding lead fills accompanying the Vocals, the chorus has some great melodic sections and the second verse shows a more darker and sultry vocal delivery, showing just how versatile JATAO really are. It’s a short and energetic track with some real classic rock flair behind it. “The Equinox Death Trip” is a fantastic track. The rhythm section really stands out on this one with some solid bass and drums which lead to an infectious groove which I challenge you to resist. With cleaner vocal delivery and atmospheric guitar and organ interplay, it has a really mystical quality to it, kind of like The Doors but with a heavier edge. The beefy riffs and organ interplay round the 2:40 mark give a real great sound, especially in the organ solo but the real magic happens at the 4:20 mark where big vocal wails, frantic and loud organ abuse and a bass solo under a guitar solo just lead to a convoluted but majestic maelstrom of creativity and expression which hits the mark!

“Wolves Inside My Head” is more ominous and slightly harder in its musical delivery. Almost like it has been laced with Venom for some real impact, it opens up with an ominous rumbling synth under a soundbyte sample which goes into a quick lively burst before it eases off in the verse. With a punchy rhythm and real build up element to it in the verse, the lead guitar subtly mirrors the vocal progression as it enters the chorus and the spooky feeling organ sounds just make for a rich atmosphere to get caught up in. With some real storming grooves which are infectious as hell, it has that classic rock-come-blues boogie feel to it at times but with a darker tone and it eases off into a hypnotic bass/vocal combo to end it in a real solid display. “Crossroad Lightning” brings back the mysticism again, starting off with something which sounds almost Native American-like , giving it a slight ‘epic’ feel. With overarching synths over a steady and melodic verse, it has a big feel and the synths essentially dictate the dynamics of the track – as they grow louder, so does the vocal delivery. Round 3:40, the bass really kicks in and there’s some fantastic vocal work and bluesy riffs and as the track progresses, it picks up that BÖC feel again with the raw sounding riffs and a really good bass riff/solo spot. Round 5:40 we get a real big melodic moment with some massive vocals and piano before it starts to wind down towards the Native American sound once more to end it.

“The Lovers” is a short burst of energy. A bouncing feel rock and roll groove underpins the track as it’s infectious nature takes hold of you once again. With some great vocal delivery and solid synth voicing’s, it really has a kick to it, especially in the choruses where it gets louder and the vocal and lead melodies shine through before we get a real blistering paced solo. This then leads into “Goetia Of Love” which keeps up the lively feel. With some solid musicianship providing the energetic and slightly bouncy feel backing for the vocals which just roll off so smoothly, it’s got a great sound to it. The chorus brings the retro rock feeling back into full swing with some backing “oooh’s” and a memorable descending run for the main hook and later on in the track we get a touch of some Robert Plant styled vocal wails which really add to the sound.

This of course leads us to the final track of the album which is also the longest. Clocking in at just over 22 minutes, “Goodbye To Virgin Grounds Forever” is an epic in every sense of the word. Given how the rest of the album has had that big rock feel with a lively pace to it, this track is the polar opposite. It’s slower and more sorrowful in its delivery which in a strange way, makes it rather beautiful sounding. The track opens up with a lone piano melody which is joined by a flute and some periodic cymbal clashes to up the mood and to set the scene, building a sorrowful but captivating sonic landscape to get lost in. The rest of the band joins in and it is more bluesy – subtle bassline, vocal freestyling in the Plant wail delivery and subtle guitar licks and progressions steadily build up and the first real change in dynamic is round the 6 minute part. The drums pick up, the vocals get slightly softer in their delivery and the guitar becomes more prominent. This approach leads to a smooth bluesy solo before it picks up again round the 8:30 point, growing in volume and intensity, giving a sense of a bigger, more dramatic musical shift to come, especially when the vocal delivery gets more dramatic and horns and building feel drums join in, making it even louder.

Round the 10 minute spot, we find ourselves dipping into the BÖC style again and the rich bassline and strong piano really ties it all together well before it changes again. Easing off on the volume but speeding up with regards to some instruments, the 11:30 point leads to another major shift as the piano gets faster and it gets more frantic and the guitar and horns get a little more intricate. Cascading into a Hendrix styled section round 14 minutes, it picks up again and then two minutes later, it shifts again, with more power coming from the vocals and the twisting bass and turbulent drums, really shifting it more to the classic psychedelic stylings.

Eventually the track begins to slow down before the final major change – a near enough all vocal three minute outro with a folk-like melody which follows the vocal harmony lines to great effect. Initially this shift doesn’t quite work, but as it progresses, it works out rather well and brings a very dynamic track and album to an epic close.

Overall, “The Aquarius Tapes” is another astounding release from Svart Records. It’s got everything you want from psychedelic rock and blues – its arrangements, phrasings and progressions get you caught up in them so much you cannot help but have your mind wander through the rich sonic landscape which Jess And The Ancient Ones have created. With slick guitar chops, infectious and feel dictating synth and organs, a solid rhythm section and some magnificent vocals, JATAO have created a real hit here.

(8.5/10 Fraggle)

https://www.facebook.com/jessandtheancientones

Out 4th December!