Review: Septage – Septic Worship

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/septage-septic-worship/

Danish gurgling grind monstrosity Septage have finally birthed their debut full length ‘Septic Worship (Intolerant Spree of Infesting Forms)’ after a number of highly regarded EPs and a brutal split with Hyperdontia. It is out now through a collaboration between Extremely Rotten Productions, Dark Descent and Me Saco Un Ojo Records, who are handling cassette, CD and vinyl respectively. If their early work is any indicator of what you can expect, this is going to be wild.

When you open with a five second blast of grind, then descend into uneasy scales of death metal guitar backed up by chaotic grind, gurgling vomiting vocals and a squealing solo, you know Septage mean business. There’s so much early Carcass all over this release, from the gurgling ‘Jorden Raser Efter Menneskekød’ to the rabid ‘Septic Deterioration and Decomposition (Lubricated in Feces for the Great Beyond)’,  but the raw miasmic atmosphere and production is my favourite part. Everything sounds so thick and murky, like it has been recorded inside a dead body. It seems spurious to say that the longer songs are my favourite, mainly because you have more time to absorb their carnage, but they also show that Septage have got a lot going on here. Anyone can attempt to recreate ‘You Suffer’, but the swaying uncomfortable guitar swagger that keeps cropping up in tracks like the title track or the sludgy drag of ‘Bushmeat Banquet’ is a real filthy treat. Balls to the wall is great, but if you can layer in some little slower hooks for us to be lacerated by, all the better. ‘Emetic Rites’ sounds like a lost Autopsy track from 1989, while closer ‘Başkasının Kusmuğu’ even has a little Bolt Thrower at the start, before it explodes into filthy deathgrind again.

It’s only twenty minutes long, but Septage pour 100 ideas into those twenty minutes, blend them into a deathgrind mush and then spew them back into your ears at a thousand decibels, creating one of the murkiest and most chaotic releases you’ll hear this year. It’s like if ‘Reek of Putrefaction’ dared to have a tune or two, or early Napalm Death if they’d been recorded while their heads were being held under sewage. ‘Septic Worship’ has taken all that promise shown in their EPs and somehow dialled it up even further. Ugly, violent and yet somehow really, really catchy, Septage are a revelation.

https://www.facebook.com/septagedeath/

https://septage.bandcamp.com/

https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://extremelyrottenproductions.bandcamp.com/

Review: Acid Mammoth – Supersonic Megafauna Collision

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/acid-mammoth-supersonic-megafauna-collision/

First of all, there are two things that appealed to me straight away with Acid Mammoth; that name is absolute genius and that logo is even better. Seriously, what a perfect, perfect logo. I love it. Meanwhile, new record from Greek stoner doom monoliths Acid Mammoth is ‘Supersonic Megafauna Collision’ (another inspired combination of words) and follows 2021’s ‘Caravan’ which I also enjoyed. It is out now through Heavy Psych Sounds.

Now, what Acid Mammoth actually sound like will not exactly take you by surprise you. The opening title track’s pounding drums and fuzzed up bluesy groove is just classic stoner doom material, and is no surprise for people who have followed this band before. But what I’ve always enjoyed about Acid Mammoth’s take on the genre is just how much they get ‘it’. Their grooves are not overbearingly fuzzy, their swaggering blues influence isn’t overbearing, their trippy atmospheres don’t descend into masturbatory nonsense. The delightfully stompy ‘Fuzzorgasm (Keep on Screaming)’ is a perfect example, found somewhere in the middle of Kyuss, Cathedral and Electric Wizard in a place where you can sit and smoke ’em or boogie to your black heart’s content. It’s so catchy, that main riff will be swimming through your head for weeks as well as the Layne Staley-esque croon of frontman Chris Babalis Jr. That voice suits this kind of music so well, adding just that little bit of grit into silky smooth, fuzzed up doom.

‘Garden of Bones’ is a rumbling psyche doom sermon, where Acid Mammoth’s more trippy guitar moments serpentine their way across a righteous groove, while ‘Atomic Shaman’ is a peek into a world where Mastodon lost the progressive stuff and stuck themselves into an Electric Wizard groove. ‘One With the Void’ is the creeping Sabbathian ballad, where nothing really heavy kicks in but those clean guitars are just as sinister as the heavier tones of closer ‘Tusko’s Last Trip’, where the band’s modus operandi is revealed in full, rumbling splendour. It begins in the tranquil clean guitar and an Ozzy-esque wail, while those big old riffs come rolling back in like waves. Is there even a little hint of organ in the background? It’s got a really nice quieter section in the middle too where a little anticipation is built for the gloriously cutting solo and lumbering final stride towards oblivion.

‘Supersonic Megafauna Collision’ is a record that absolute delivers on your expectations, but has plenty of diverse moments to kill any chances of boredom. Mediocrity in stoner doom is a remarkably common occurance, but Acid Mammoth’s work has just this undefinable magic about it that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s probably the massive grooves though, a more nuanced set than ‘Caravan’s but not lacking in heaviness. If they ever manage to reanimate the mammoth, let’s hope it is as majestic as ‘Supersonic Megafauna Collision’.

https://www.facebook.com/acidmammoth

https://acidmammoth.bandcamp.com/

https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

Review: Boris & Coalter of the Deepers – Hello There

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/coaltar-of-the-deepers-boris/

Japanese legends Boris have played around in pretty much every genre of rock and metal you can think of, and they’ve also collaborated with any number of great artists within. Enter Coaltar of the Deepers, their fellow countrymen who started around the same time as Boris and who have also blazed a fairly unique path through a more alt rock and post rock direction. Despite their influences on each other and their similar career trajectories, they’d only collaborated for the first time in 2019 and the idea for this split had been germinating for a long time. ‘hello there’ is out now through Dog Knights Productions, and is a work of ‘self -covers’ to introduce their music to new listeners as well as share their love for each other’s music.

Now, I’ve not listened to much Coaltar of the Deepers before now, other than a cursory YouTube flick through as preparation for this, but as opener ‘Wipeout’ bursts into life with traditional Japanese instrumentation and a driving, insistent riff, it is instantly appealing. Clean vocals interplay with a sludgy roar, while you’ve got tar thick guitar work and bass heavy low end entwining with lighter motifs as well. It makes sense that Coaltar of the Deepers have been influential on Boris; their disregard of genre conventions is incredibly similar. Their cover of Boris’ ‘Melody’ is a little cleaner but no less effective or psychedelic than the original, it just lacks a little fuzz and ethereality. ‘Waterbird’ is excellent, a churning almost Godflesh riff overlaid with that dreamy post rock atmosphere, ghostly clean vocals taking the song up from the darker places. A Morricone-esque sax starts the sludgy groan of ‘Killing Another’, the final piece of Coaltar of the Deepers’ part of the split, a thrashy, stonery d-beat thunder that seems totally out of place and yet works as a snapshot of a wider sound.

You never know which Boris is going to show up to each release, which is part of their charm to be honest, but ‘hello there’ has brought big sludgy all caps doom BORIS to the party. ‘Luna’ opens with lapping waves before Boris do what Boris do best; driving heaviness and ghostly beauty at the same time. Pounding drums, driving guitar and soaring melodic lines and vocals. It is a version of ‘Luna’ from their split with Torche back in 2009, which caused me a little confusion at first as it is much shorter, but this is part of the ‘self cover, self reinterpretation’ ethos of ‘hello there’. I also love the galloping, almost progressive thrash version of ‘Quicksilver’ that follows, more proof if you needed it that Boris can turn their hand to almost anything and make magic. The original was laden with a punkish stoner rock vibe, but this one just gives it a little more bite. But it is the glacial crush of their Coaltar cover ‘Serial Tear’ that is really special, their groaning riffs fit the Boris mold perfectly while there’s a progressively more frenzied and yet spacious journey to go on. There is so much happening here that you’ll have to listen numerous times to really appreciate the full nuance.

I make no bones about the fact I am a massive Boris fan, but to hear a band like Coaltar of the Deepers for the first time and immediately understand where their influence on Boris is noticeable is amazing for me. ‘hello there’ is a triumphant work for new and old fans of both bands, a split that feels utterly personal and collaborative in a way most splits don’t. You can sense the love and respect these bands have for each other’s music as well as their own, and it is a fascinating snapshot into the potential ‘reinterpretation’ discography idea. Perhaps we could get a sequel…?

https://www.facebook.com/borisheavyrocks

https://dogknightsproductions.com/

Review: Blazar – Fatal Cosmic Wound

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/blazar-fatal-cosmic-wound/

‘Fatal Cosmic Wound’ is the debut full length from Barcelona’s Blazar, a sludgy funeral doom outfit who take their name from one of the brightest things in the night sky. Blazars are a type of active galactic nucleus with a jet composed of ionised matter, travelling at nearly the speed of light, which is a very science-y description but it actually suits their suitably cosmic darkness. I’m glad they explained that clearly in their promotional materials, because I would’ve struggled to describe it so eruditely. ‘Fatal Cosmic Wound’ is out now through Carbonized Records.

‘Aether’ definitely feels like it has drifted in from the depths of the cosmos, less of an intro and more of a herald of what may be coming out of the endless black. That fear is realised as the title track begins, a shuddering epic of groaning doom that has a decidedly funereal pace and vocals that sound like they are emanating from some kind of abyssal tear. ‘Beyond the Event Horizon’ is much the same, except the two tracks feel almost like a duology of those genre tags of sludge and funeral doom; the latter having a real sense of sludgy malice running through it, compared with the glacial heft of the former. It adds a sense of the severe and the fearsome to an album that could’ve fallen into the sleek post metal crowd too early to realise their full potential. The deep space signal vibe to the dark ambient ‘Aeon’ is a perfect respite, almost like a moment to craft a response to the sounds calling out from the cosmos. The sludge factor is seen best in the storming ‘Crystallized Oblivion’, which even layers in a little death metal power as well into it. Blazar have carefully cultivated a sound of pure obsidian, like Triptykon meets Skepticism via just a tiny bit of Isis. The clean notes that ring out in what could just be described as melody are eovcative and memorable, and they provide anchors in the roiling galaxial turmoil that tracks like ‘Forgotten’ have created. As ‘The Omega Phase’ screams out a final warning to the rest of the universe, a brief signal of what they can expect before fading out, you know just what you’ve experienced was special.

A few years ago, the band Atramentus released ‘Stygian’, my album of the year for 2020 and a record that I hold up as an absolute pinnacle of this kind of massive, scope defying funeral doom. Very few albums have come close to it, let alone surpass it, but ‘Fatal Cosmic Wound’ might be the closest I’ll find. An incredible work of such melancholy, such darkness, such a voice given to our futile efforts in this life. Blazar may have named themselves after one of the more energetic things in the sky, but their music is the heat death of our galaxy; timeless and inevitable. ‘Fatal Cosmic Wound’ is right, and we’re all going to bleed out in eternal doom. Wow.

https://www.facebook.com/Blazardoom

https://blazardoom.bandcamp.com/

https://carbonizedrecords.com/

Review: Peter Wolff & Jens Borgaard – Destroyer

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/peter-wolff-jens-borgaard-destroyer/

The 3rd solo record from Downfall of Gaia’s Peter Wolff, ‘Destroyer’ sees him collaborate with Dutch folk singer Jens Borgaard as well as visual artist Kai Lietzke who had worked with Wolff on his previous album ‘Breath’. Now, I am not familiar with Wolff’s previous work, but I do know Downfall of Gaia, so I am very interested in how this release will sound. The idea for the record came from the concept of a man who causes a fatal car crash, and his thoughts/feelings about how it was caused and how, despite his efforts to disassociate himself from blame for it, everything he now knows will be destroyed. A heavy concept but one ripe with opportunities for atmospheric storytelling.

Opener ‘Dwell’ gives you a thrumming, slightly uncomfortable beat with scratchy melodies creeping under the charismatic voice of Borgaard; the whole piece gives you a real foreboding and that is a vibe that continues to rear its head frequently throughout ‘Destroyer’. You would never expect an album built around such concepts to be an easy listen, but somehow each track becomes more and more haunting. The swelling crawl of ‘End’, the graceful piano of ‘Serene’, the sleek drone of ‘Transmit’, each track is part of a complete experience and could not have the same effect if listened to separately from each other. Where ‘Destroyer’ really starts to become visceral is ‘Rain’, where harsh industrial samples crash and splinter behind the apocalyptic poetry of the lyrics. It is a real intensity shift from before, which makes the tranquil follow up ‘Observe’ feel even more like a respite. You feel aware of every inch of the story being woven, be it through the evocative vocals of Borgaard or through the atmospheric interplay of Wolff’s soundscapes.

From the almost cyberpunk soundscapes of ‘You’ to the darkness of ‘Extole’, ‘Destroyer’ is more of a work of experimental art than a mere listening experience. If you want to gain the full pleasure from this, I recommend the full audio/visual experience, but if you only have time for the musical side, then this is more than worth your time. Evocative, mesmerising and a truly driven, focused dark ambient piece in a genre that can sometimes lack that.

https://www.facebook.com/PeterWolffMusic

https://www.facebook.com/borgaardmusic

https://myproudmountain.bandcamp.com/album/destroyer

Review: Corrupted – Felicific Algorithm/Mushikeras

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/corrupted-felicific-algorithm-mushikeras/

Japan’s Corrupted are a mystery to most. No interviews, no photo shoots, very little is known about these drone/doom/sludge icons, other than they produce some of the genre’s most devastating and intoxicating music. All self respecting doom-heads should be familiar with their 1997 landmark, ‘Paso Inferior’. ‘Felicific Algorithm/Mushikeras’ is a compilation release of their multi-speed vinyl only ‘Felicific Algorithm’ release from 2018, while it also includes a physical version for the first time of their 2023 digital only ‘Mushikeras’ piece as well. It is out now through Cold Spring Records.

This is no simple reissue though, as the title tracks have been reqorked into darker versions of themselves, taken from the original recordings and evolved somewhat. The first, 33rpm part of ‘Felicific Algiorithm’ begins with the slowest, subtlest tones; a droning quietness broken briefly by humming notes. That builds into a harsh noise explosion, squalling feedback and industrial effects skitter and scream across the humming backdrop, pummelling your psyche until around the half way point it disappears again, back into the obsidian gloom. A haunting piece of music, as sinister at full volume as it is in the silent deep. The second, 45rpm title track is just as dark, but a more insistent drone formulates into being before the gurgling rumble begins to drift into existence. An almost completely dark ambient piece, the harshness of the first track never comes into effect but the uncomfortable feelings generated are really haunting. ‘Mushikeras’ is just as impressive in its emotional creation. It opens with beautiful, mourning piano and clean vocals before transitioning into an achingly slow, groaning rumble of a track. At 27 minutes, there is a lot to cover here but if you know Corrupted, you’ll be familiar with their sound here. Devastating, almost glacially slow and multilayered, whether their riffs are rolling over you or the percussive pounding lingers beyond ghostly ambience and uncomfortable screams and whispers, this is deeply affecting. The sludgy crush that closes the track out is classic Corrupted to its core.

What I’ve always enjoyed about Corrupted is that they seem to reappear out of nowhere with something masterful, dark and sinister, and then resubmerge back into their gloom. Whether their releases are frequent or there is time between, every re-emergence feels like an event not to be missed, and ‘Felicific Algorithm/Mushikeras’ is the same. A mesmerising release, cradling the idea of comfort music in bloodstained hands and letting it go forever.

https://www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

https://corrupted1994.bandcamp.com/track/mushikeras

https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/felicific-algorithm-mushikeras-csr333cd

Review: Ancient VVisdom – Master of the Stone

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/ancient-vvisdom-master-stone/

I remember the first time I ever heard Ancient VVisdom, over a decade ago now on their ‘A Godlike Inferno’ record, and I remember reading somewhere that it was occult rock meets black metal atmospherics, only acoustic. It has been a description, and a band, that have stuck with me over the years, and their newest record ‘Master of the Stone’ is looking to be an amalgamation of the harder occult rock of ‘Mundus’, the acoustica of their early work and the heavier sounds of 2014’s ‘Sacrificial’. It is out now through Argonauta Records.

The band’s evolution reminds me of Woods of Ypres’ movement from an overt black metal edge to a more morbid, almost gothic doom. It doesn’t seem like an obvious comparison at first, but the dynamic and charismatic voice of drummer Nathan Opposition really brings to mind David Gold’s dulcet depression-riddled voice. Opener ‘Sold My Soul to Satan’ is a fuzzy, charismatic stomp of occult rock that gives me a lot of The Devil’s Blood vibe, and while much of the band’s initial campfire neofolk has been dispersed, the band’s occult Satanism remains within a heavier, doomier framework. The infectious hooks have gone nowhere though and while the dark folk acoustic sections have been relegated to a mere two tracks (‘World’s Demise’ and ‘The Devil’s Sermon’), it is good to see that they haven’t gone entirely. Tracks like ‘Demon Est Deus Inverses’ are examples of where this newer approach works really well, with a melancholic hook and gloomy swagger that most bands of this ilk would kill for. Recorded with Noah Buchanan of Nunslaughter, who also laid down some vocals and guitarwork as well on the record, the album sounds crisp and clean, giving the full Satanic poetry a full rich voice.

‘Master of the Stone’ is a good record, full of hook ridden gloom, and Ancient VVisdom’s journey to this place has left them with probably their most complete album overall; a fine encapsulation of their evolution. I do feel that by leaving that initial USP behind with the acoustic led neofolk/occult rock style and becoming a little more of a ‘normal’ stoner doom band with Satanic themes leaves them in a less unique place however. Don’t get me wrong, Ancient VVisdom do what they do now better than a big swathe of bands who have been doing it longer, but they are now more part of a pack than out on their own. For me, that just isn’t quite as interesting as it used to be.

https://www.facebook.com/AVVFB

https://www.argonautarecords.com/shop/cd/694-ancient-vvisdom-master-of-the-stone-cd.html

Review: Escuela Grind – DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/escuela-grind-ddeeaatthhmmeettaall/

The third and final piece in the Escuela Grind tribute EPs, following 2020’s ‘PPOOWWEERRVVIIOOLLEENNCCEE’ and ‘GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE’ EPs (I absolutely love this, can’t wait for someone to do a PPOOWWEERRMMEETTAALL one someday), ‘DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL’ showcases a genre near and dear to Escuela Grind’s heart, and even features a guest spot from one real deathgrind legend, who will be revealed later! It is out now through MNRK Records.

‘Ball and Chain’ kicks off with a massive, bowel scraping riff that turns into a chugging monstrosity, as frontwoman Katerina Economou growls her heart out. Think Vader or Asphyx heavy, a rumbling force of nature that has become the ‘wall of death’ song in their live sets. That seems to be their main focus in these tracks, a real low end heavy powerhouse of a death metal style. You’d assume a band that has obvious grind and powerviolence influences to be a little thinner and more razorblade sharp but Escuela Grind really have a handle on this crushing, steamrolling style of death metal. ‘Punishment Ritual’ and ‘Abyssal Plane’ both hit with massive breakdowns at various places, proper neck wreckers that are designed to test the strength of your house’s foundations. But it is closer ‘Meat Magnet’, with guest vocals by Napalm Death icon Barney Greenway, that is my favourite track here. A heavy but waspish, frenzied track that betrays those grindy roots a little more obviously, and there are times where Katerina and Barney’s vocals are in such sync you can’t tell which is which. A real triumph of tributary songwriting, and avoiding any accusations of merely aping their own influences. Escuela Grind sound like Escuela Grind; their 2022 album ‘Memory Theater’ was a stunning reminder that they have their own sound in the genre, and these EPs are merely showing how they can adapt that style to fit their disparate genre influences with ease.

If you’ve never seen Escuela Grind live by the way, I’d get that ticked off your bucket list as soon as you can. If it’s as good as these three EPs, and particularly ‘DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL’ suggest (and if you watch the video for ‘Meat Magnet’, it looks pretty damn good), it’ll be a blast. ‘DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL’ completes the trilogy and finally allows you to get a true taste of what Escuela Grind are all about; powerful, angry music made by passionate people. If you can get all three of them, do that. If not, I’d take ‘DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL’ over the others on personal preference.

https://www.facebook.com/escuelagrind

https://escuelagrind.bandcamp.com/album/ddeeaatthhmmeettaall

Review: Hibushibire – Magical Metamorphosis – Third Eye

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/hibushibire-magical-metamorphosis-third-eye/

When I recently told the head Shaman about my nascent interest in classic Japanese psych rock (as I had just read ‘Japrocksampler’), I was suggested the new album from Japanese psyche group Hibushibire as another stop on my burgeoning Jappsychsampler (not sure if that works or not). ‘Magical Metamorphosis – Third Eye’ is the first effort from the second lineup of the band, with mainman Changchang joined by Aoi Hama on drums and Tetsuji Toyoda on bass. A three pronged vocal approach is new as well, but most of this is new to me completely so let’s dive in. ‘Magical Metamorphosis – Third Eye’ is out now through Riot Season Records.

The almost Middle Eastern tinkling opening to ‘Orangesunshine of Your Lovemachine’ gets shredded by an incredible riff, cutting through the air like a desert wind. There’s some odd vocal strangeness, reminds me a little Melt Banana or that really weird bit on ‘Colony of Birchmen’ by Mastodon, but the soulful guitar and wandering bassline is an absolute hook to the upper lip. The spacey clean vocal that follows up is a dreamy incantation of psych soaked rock and roll, shimmering like a mirage of Plant-esque wails and squalling guitar solos. Man, what an entrance. ‘We Won’t Go Back to the Past’ is a little dreamier, like 60s influenced dream pop but with Wata from Boris teasing stinging solos from the ether. Boris are an obvious comparison point for me, such as on the psych rock blast of ‘Death Surfin USA’, where ‘Pink’ and ‘Smile’ seem like obvious reference points, but you can also see a little Shinki Chen & Friends in the sleek shimmer of the trippy Beatles tribute ‘Tomorrow Never Ever Knows’.

There are even some real hallucinogenic Acid Mother’s Temple vibes in spiralling closer ‘Ayahuasca Witch Abduction’, which is unsurprising when you know that Makoto Kawabata from AMT is a producer here. In fact, from what little I know of AMT, you can hear some of Kawabata’s howling guitar lines lasering through this record in places. I adore the eerie female vocal wail around the 17 minute mark; it really gives me some 70s b-movie soundtrack vibes before a swirling, distortion drenched solo swoons across an increasingly frantic drumming performance. A shrieking, spiralling end to a record that has many roots in their native scene but an almost energetic need to expand that scene even further. Hark at me, the new guy sounding like I know what I’m talking about!

If bands like Hibushibire are the kind of thing I can expect to find if I delve deeper into this subgenre then I’ll see you all on the other side. I may never get out of here. ‘Magical Metamorphosis – Third Eye’ is a psychedelic masterpiece; underpinned by a stubbornly desert rock core and then allowed to flourish into the clear night sky under the influences of who knows what. An evocative, meditative frenzy of stoned up rock and chilled out psych, intercut by the odd freakout jam.

https://www.facebook.com/hibushibire

https://hibushibire.bandcamp.com/

https://www.riotseason.com/

Review: AcidSitter – Make Acid Great Again

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/acidsitter-make-acid-great-again/

The strange world of psych-rock is not one I have spent too much time in, and it has been a failing I’ve strived to improve upon this year. But I also recently finished reading Julian Cope’s excellent JapRockSampler book, and when I saw AcidSitter were a Polish/Japanese group that seemed to be right in that wheelhouse, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to jump in feet first. ‘Make Acid Great Again’ (what a title by the way) is out now through Interstellar Smoke Records.

The hovering, wailing opening note of the eponymous track hums into a rumbling bass groove and a bluesy swagger, infectious vocal hooks and a guitar tone that really reminds me of Them Crooked Vultures. Trippy passages weave soulful guitar over wandering basslines, and vocalist Rafal Klimzak has an excellent, slightly raspy croon. It adds an edge to the synthy vibes of ‘It’s Fine’, or the uneasy grooves of ‘Sweat Dreams’; it isn’t quite a punkish feel but it definitely goes harder than a lot of this kind of dreamier psych stuff I’ve come across before. There is still more than enough of that trippy, swirling psychedelica drifting throughout the album though, maintaining a chilled out atmosphere that is thick and enveloping when it is deployed in ‘The Healing Journey’, which has more than a touch of Boris about it, especially during that shimmering solo.

‘Last Few Days’ is my favourite track here though; a driving bass line, a squalling solo, a charismatic and chameleonic vocal performance. It’s all leading to the psyche freakout of closer ‘Staywatch’, a jam that starts off fairly inoffensive and ambient, a whistling stoner wind, but builds into a swaggering, Zeppelin-esque banger that hits all the right notes for the psyche fan and the stoner rock fan at the same time. ‘Make Acid Great Again’ is an invigorating trip, loaded with plenty of the type of dreamy, spacey vibes you’d expect from something called this, but never leaving the solid rock core smothered in effects or . I’m not sure if ‘down to earth’ is the turn of phrase I’m looking for, but it feels very apt for AcidSitter’s new record. Just a new Earth, where everything is a little fuzzy.

https://www.facebook.com/AcidSitter

https://acidsitter.bandcamp.com/album/make-acid-great-again-full-album-2023

https://interstellarsmokerecords.bigcartel.com/