Friday 15 March 2024

MALSTEN ~ THE HAUNTING OF SILVAKRA MILL - RITES OF PASSAGE .... review

July 2020 saw Swedish outfit Malsten release "The Haunting of Silv​å​kra Mill" a scintillating concept album telling of an ancient evil emanating from an old abandoned mill, it was an album we at Desert Psychlist described as being "like listening to the musical equivalent of a horror story told around the flickering flames of a campfire". Things went a bit quiet for a while after the release of this doomic masterpiece until in 2022 when Malsten released "Entr'acte" a single track intended to serve as a bridging piece between the first chapter and the next instalment of the Silv​å​kra Mill story, it seemed that the campfire we mentioned was still burning and an unfinished tale was still waiting to reach its conclusion. That next instalment has now arrived in the shape of "The Haunting of Silv​å​kra Mill - Rites of Passage" (Svart Records) so lets hunker down, make ourselves comfortable and let Malsten continue their tale.

Opening song "Path of the Nix" opens with melancholy strings then erupts into a slow dank dark doomic refrain, driven by pounding percussion, over which strong clean but mournful vocals tell of Silv​å​kra's wearied preacher continuing his hunt for the killer that slipped through his fingers at the end of the first album, The song boasts an almost touchable atmospheric, the preachers confusion, frustration and fear perfectly captured not only in the songs lyrics but also in its slowly building musical dynamic. "Larum" follows and sees our preacher still following the path he has set out for himself but at the same time starting to experience a strange darkness calling out to him, the ancient evil emanating from the cursed mill infiltrating his thoughts much like it did the murderous miller he hunts, this all set to a backdrop of some of the dankest and most menacing doom you are likely to hear this side of Armageddon. Parping church-like organ and a lone vocal make up "Intercession" a brief piece that sees our preacher making a plea/prayer to his god for some sort of intervention against the darkness that is slowly enveloping him. Next song "Terra Inferna" builds its part up slowly, its initial post-rock textures taking on a more malevolent dynamic as the song evolves, that dynamic easing off slightly when the vocals make an appearance but nevertheless remaining in the air throughout the songs duration. Next up is "Ceremony" a sombre lament sang in melancholy tones against a backdrop of sparse piano and synth generated strings that then segues into final song "Laurenti Berth" a song that marks the confrontation between hunter and hunted but twists the songs narrative so that it becomes unclear who is which, the musical backdrop accompanying this final confrontation a mix of sinister spacious post-metal and sprawling heavy doom boasting a vocal that ranges from unsettling semi-crooned narration to impassioned gothic howling, spine chilling stuff! 


Malsten, much like their fellow Swedes Cavern Deep, love to tell a story over a series of releases and much like Cavern Deep they try not to overcomplicate things, preferring instead to lay out their musical tale like a novel with a beginning a middle and an end, leaving some things for the listener to work out for themselves but on the whole keeping things nice and straightforward. It is this old fashioned style of story telling, delivered without going off on convoluted tangents, that makes "The Haunting of Silv​å​kra Mill - Rites of Passage" such an engrossing listen not only as a chapter in the whole Silv​å​kra Mill saga but also as a stand alone album in its own right. 
Check it out ... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Wednesday 13 March 2024

SUPERNAUT ~ NO MIND VOLUME I ... review


Supernaut, Oliver Niemann (guitar); Will Iermini (bass) and Sean Niemann (drums), hail from Santa Cruz, California and have in the past released albums, "Supernaut", "The Green" and "Soul Awaken", that have been notable for their vocal parts however the album we are reviewing today is a collection of instrumental jams all recorded in one session which the band have dubbed "No Mind Volume I",


"No Mind Volume I" is basically four smaller pieces bookended by two sprawling epics, the first of those epics being "Ronin", a song that retains a prog-like funkishness throughout its tenure and uses this as its platform to launch off on convoluted flights into instrumental cosmicness, O.Niemann's guitar is the main focus throughout, his constantly ascending/descending solos, his shard like chord progressions and his delicate tonal textures are what most listeners will come away remembering but if you dig deeper and isolate O.Niemann's contributions from your mind you will also discover a really tight rhythm section going hell for leather underneath, Iermini's bass work a mix of growling funkiness and liquid jazziness, S.Niemann's drumming tight solid and swinging. For the albums next jam "Pizza Basement" Supernaut go for a more metallic riff orientated dynamic which they played at a breakneck  tempo, if we have one complaint about this song it is that it finishes far too early. "Cold Waters Of The North" is next,  a chugging, stuttering groover decorated in spacious guitar texturing that sees the songs fade out signalling the fade in of the next track "Wake The Dead" a brief but enjoyable jam built around a groove heavily reliant on Iermini and S.Niemann's rhythmic prowess. Second to last we have "Bestill" an eerie mood piece that utilizes raked and hit guitar and bass strings echoing over achingly sedate rhythmic patterns and has the feel of one of Ornette Coleman's more avant-garde jazz compositions. Final jam "Lizard City" mixes its grooves between stoner(ish) psych and funky space rock and sees O.Niemann layering over those grooves a blend of textures and colours that range from screaming bluesiness through to lysergic languidity while also managing to visit all stops in-between.


Whatever it was that drove Supernaut to ditch the vocals and go down the fully instrumental route for "No Mind Vol.I " (and its soon to be released follow up "No Mind Vol. II") is a question best asked of the band themselves but whatever it was that informed that decision there is no getting away from the fact that these are some intense, mind-melting jams played by three musicians at the very top of their game.
Check it out ... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Monday 11 March 2024

SIGMANTRA ~ HALLUCINOGENIC ... review


Those of us who spend most of out time listening to music at the more underground end of the rock spectrum will no doubt agree that listening to the sound of crunchy guitar tones, run through fuzz/distortion pedals and exploding out of an overdriven amp, is, bar making the two backed beast or watching your favourite sports team lift a trophy, one of the best experiences you can have in this world. With that in mind we today bring you an album that will satisfy that need for fuzz and distortion but will at the same time assuage any penchants you may have for groove. The album in question goes by the title "Hallucinogenic" and the band delivering those desired elements are a Chilean trio called Sigmantra.


As is fitting it is the title track "Hallucinogenic" that kicks proceedings off, its scuzzy guitar intro and screaming feedback initially heralds in a slow low and thundering doom groove but then suddenly morphs into a crunching stoner romp weighted down in thick fuzz over which the vocals are delivered in clean angsty tones, the song finally finishing its account in a thrash like crescendo. The quasi-instrumental "Tyrell Bastard Son" follows and utilises the famous "tears in rain" quote from Ridley Scott's  1982 "Blade Runner" movie as its intro before exploding into a low bass heavy refrain driven by pummelling percussion, the songs in your face dynamic only briefly interrupted by a deliciously spacious passage of dark languidity. Third track "Swamp" is anything but "swampy" in fact if you took away the chainsaw tones of the bass and  the guitar this could easily be considered desert rock, especially given its bluesy lead work, tight four to the floor drumming and its just short of lilting vocal melody. For last track "Class B Movie" Sigmantra throw everything into the pot including galloping Sabbathian riffs, Thin Lizzy flavoured guitar motifs, low slow stoner doom dynamics and gothic toned vocals, all of these various elements drenched in so much fuzz and distortion your speakers will be screaming out for mercy.


Sigmanta's "Hallucinogenic" hits with the force of a hurricane, its songs are scuzzy, heavy and punchy but are not bereft of things like colour texture and melody, this despite being drenched in enough fuzz to drown a small country.
Check 'em out ....  

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Saturday 9 March 2024

DAYTRIPPER ~ BOOK I: THE TRIP ...... review


Phoenix, Arizona's Daytripper may share their name with a Beatles song but that is where any similarities end, don't go expecting jangly guitar tones and tight vocal harmonies from these guys as their music resides on the darker side of the tracks, in fact the only thing jangling here are the nerves of those listening to the bands hellish doomic tomes. If you think that last statement may be us at Desert Psychlist slightly gilding the lily then press play on the bands debut "Book I: The Trip" but before you do make sure you have a light on and bottle of Valium to hand.
 

Dark droning and distorted guitar textures introduce opening song "Jarl's Eyes", a hellish cacophony of noise that is then joined by a second guitar, bass and drums in a heavy doomic groove decorated in a mix of hazy and harsh vocal tones, a groove that is routinely interrupted by moments of lysergic languidity and delicious thrumming low slow bleakness. If you have not succumbed to the call of the Valium yet then "Marijuanakon" might be the song to push you over the edge, its Sleep like refrains support a chorus of wordless wailing and harsh guttural growls that vocalise Dune/Dopesmoker flavoured lyrical content, the addition of  screeching violin adding an off centred satanic feel to the proceedings. "Primitives" follows and in its initial stages boasts a slightly more desert flavoured groove however after a brief episode of dark space like ambience things take a blackened turn and we are taken to the close on wave upon wave of droning dankness. Next track "Staff of the Bog" sees Daytripper's musical sages employing the vocals of Ashley Ann Thompson to add vocal contrast to a song that is part hazy desert rock part blackened heavy psych while "Sludgelurker" sees the band blending Sabbathesque proto-doom with swampy sludge then finishing in crescendo of dank off kilter noise that bears no resemblance to either. Penultimate track "Tin Man" is Daytripper at their most accessible, the songs vocals, a trade off of clean and harsh tones, are supported by a groove notable for its dialled down heaviness, granted its not exactly radio friendly but this is probably the closest these guys will ever get. Final number "The Trip" is a sublime epic hotch-potch of ethereal occult rock, psychedelic doom and swampy sludge delivered low slow and atmospheric, well that is until a brief injection of Sabbathian chug'n'roll heralds in a lurch to the finish line on a delightfully dark wave of unholy dissonance.


Stoner doom, blackened desert rock, psychedelic sludge are all labels you could use to describe Daytripper's "Book I: The Trip" and all would apply but there is also a undefinable element to the songs that inhabit this debut that defies description, an essence of malevolence mixed with mysticism that gives the grooves Daytripper bring to the table an almost spiritual feel, yes an insidious and unnerving form of spirituality but a spirituality nonetheless.
Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Monday 4 March 2024

CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC ~ 79 A.E. ..... review


Given Clouds Taste Satanic's high standing in this thing we call the "underground community" there doesn't seem much point in giving a rundown of all their previous releases other than to say that with each release they have managed to raise the bar for instrumental music that bit higher. The bands latest release "79 A.E."(Majestic Mountain Records) is no different, it may only consist of two tracks but oh man those two tracks take you to places some bands struggle to take you to with ten!


 A mistake many instrumental outfits make is to limit themselves within the confines of a specific genre but CTS although rooted in doom avoid that trap, on both "Collision" and its follow up "Reclamation", by never allowing themselves to fall into a formula, there are always surprises to be found and left turns to negotiate on the two jams that make up this album, instances that keep the listener on his/her toes whereby a drum beat, a bass note or a guitar fill  can just as easily be the signal for a dive into brutal crunchiness as it can be a sign for the band to slide into moments of lysergic ambience. The musicianship on both these jams is on another level, the guitars of  Steven Scavuzzo and Brian Bauhs coil and wrap around each other in a scorching mixture of duals, trade offs and synchronized riffage while the rhythm section of Robert Halstead (bass) and Greg Acampora (drums) are the heavy equivalent of legendary jazzers Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison (John Coltrane Quartet) able to anchor the groove when needed but also possessing the chops to hold their own when the groove gets a little wild and free which is an added bonus on the more prog-leaning "Reclamation" but comes in just as handy on the more doom orientated "Collision".


 Originally penned as a soundtrack to a movie that never quite got over the line it will come as no surprise that "79 A.E." possesses a sprawling cinematic quality, but then Clouds Taste Satanic have been making music that paints pictures in the mind eye since day one, that's why we love them.
Check it out ..... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Sunday 3 March 2024

SATURNALIA TEMPLE ~ PARADIGM CALL .... review


It's time we got a little heavy again here at Desert Psychlist, it's been a while since we have visited the low. slow and weighty side of the underground scene and who better could we pick to represent that side of things than Sweden's Saturnalia Temple who this month are releasing their fourth full length album "Paradigm Call" (Listenable Records). Those familiar with Saturnalia Temple, Tommie Eriksson (vocals/guitar); Gottfrid Åhman (bass) and Pelle Åhman (drums), will know what to expect but those coming to the band anew should be prepared for crunchy repetitive guitar riffs and soaring grainy solos supported  by low slung bass motifs and earth shaking percussion, oh and let's not forget the vocals which are delivered in a low throaty graveyard gurgle.


The new album kicks off with "Drakon" a heavy atmospheric instrumental built around a droning doomic refrain supported by minimalist percussion which slowly fades into silence to make way for next song "Revel in Dissidence" the song boasting a slow circling groove only interrupted by Eriksson's distinctive grizzled vocal tones and a searing guitar solo. Title track "Paradigm Call" is next and as is Saturnalia Temple's style revolves around a repetitive guitar and bass refrain anchored by a pounding solid drumming over which Eriksson applies dark vocal colouring and scorching lead work. Having said this with "Among The Ruins" we start to see Saturnalia Temple slightly shifting the goalposts by adding elements of variation to their attack, where the albums previous songs relied on repetition this one starts to see the band toying with subtle shifts in time signature and tempo as well as getting a little more adventurous in the vocal department. ""Black Smoke" opens with the two Åhman's laying down an insidious proto-flavoured drum and bass groove joined after a few bars by Eriksson's guitar and of course his unique vocal stylings, it is however Eriksson's effect laden guitar motif that takes things to the close that will stick in the mind most here. Next song "Ascending The Pale", is a doomic lament built around a low slow and heavy groove, this is probably the closest Saturnalia Temple will ever get to writing anything close to balladry but that's OK because who needs beauty when ugliness can sound this delicious. Penultimate number " Empty Chalice" finds the band falling back on the one riff repetition of the albums first few songs while final song "Kaivalya", an instrumental, finds our Swedes jamming an eastern tinted OM like heavy psych groove taken to another level by Eriksson ripping equally exotic notes from his fretboard, this is a tune you will want to last far longer than it five minute duration allows.


The criticism that will no doubt be levelled at this album is its reliance on riffs and its lack of dynamic variation but those aiming that criticism are missing the point, it is the hypnotic effect of those riffs combined with the almost mantra like dynamics of Saturnalia Temple's grooves that are this albums biggest asset and make listening to "Paradigm Call" feel like an almost religious experience.
Check it out ... 

© 2024 Frazer Jones

Wednesday 28 February 2024

SAMSARA JOYRIDE ~ THE SUBTLE & THE DENSE ....review

 A Viennese Whirl is a creamy light biscuit much loved by the British but we are not here to talk about cakes or biscuits we are here to review "The Subtle & The Dense" (Tonzonen Records) the new album from Austria's Samsara JoyrideFlorian Miele  (vocals/guitar); Daniel Batliner (bass); Andi Mittermühler (drums) and Michael Haumner (guitar), which we think is more of a Viennese Whirlwind

Samsara Joyride's jam is blues rock but blues rock laced with a little lysergic languidity and desert rock dustiness, a combination which you get straight out of the bag with opening track "I Wont Sign Pt.1" a mid tempo rocker interspersed with moments that veer into Americana thanks in part to Miehe's vocals which possess a warm lived in quality, a quality that is especially effective when delivering lines like "we dye the night in neon light and still walk blindly through the dark". Next up is "I Wont Sign Pt.2" the instrumental sister piece to the opening track, hazy and heavy in equal measure it shows that these guys are as delightfully dynamic without vocals as they are with them. We get "Too Many Preacher's" next, its groove, a mix of Sabbathian proto-doom and heavy blues, is delivered just a notch or two above sedate which adds extra depth to its overall impact and creates the perfect platform for the Nick Cave meets Mark Lanegan style vocals that are its decoration.. The Americana of the opening track is rekindled for "Silver" twinned with semi-spoken/semi sang sermonised vocals, the song boasts a dank smouldering groove for most of its duration but then sparks into life in its last quarter bowing out in a blaze of heavy blues glory. The smouldering qualities of the previous track are replicated on "Who Tells The Story" a song that sits somewhere between a torch song and bluesy lament, the guitar work on this song is outstanding, Haumner's lead work combining with Miehe's riffs and fills to really take things to a whole other level while Batliner and Mittermühler do an exemplary job of keeping things anchored down to earth with delicious low liquid bass lines and solid tight drumming. Things get a little more traditionally bluesy for the superb "No One Is Free" while final song "Safe and Sound" sees Samsara Joyride getting laid back and jazz-like, Miele sharing vocal duties with backing singer Laura Fichtenkamm over a backdrop of undulating rhythms enhanced by swirling guitar and soulful saxophone.


To call what Samsara Joyride do just simply blues rock is an injustice, yes the music they make has its roots in the blues but there is so much more going on here. There are colours and textures to be found in the grooves that inhabit "The Subtle & The Dense" that when combined with the albums  rich vocal tones and its intelligent lyrical content takes the bands music out of the realms of the ordinary and into the realms of the otherworldly. 
Check it out ....

© 2024 Frazer Jones