Black Moth Cult - The Fountain of Tantric Worship (album review)

Cover Artwork by Coven Illustration

First off, no this isn't the doom rock band from the UK, Black Moth, nor is this French band an actual cult dedicated to the worship of that British band.  This is Black Moth Cult, a quartet from the French Riviera.  So let's get to it...

Solid stoned fuzz greets the listener right off the bat  on opening pair "Black Moth Cult" and "Sheer Dropping Suns" like an official diplomatic escort, somehow personified by the gatekeeper at the entrance to the emerald palace of Oz.  Your fuzz diplomat will be sure to steer you clear of all the clean, beautiful areas of town, taking you instead to the scuzzier back alleys, the greasiest spoon diners and meet and greets with the downtrodden. Pan-seared Fuzz is more or less the backbone of this record but this isn't your typical stoner album.  Somehow, Black Moth Cult finds the beauty within the grime, mire and noise.  The beauty is in the melodic and groovy elements that walk along the backs of those dirty sounds like a privileged upper class.

Every now and then the listener slips away from the escort and makes a bee-line for those desirable places, away from the pot-holes and the kipple to those stunning places above the clouds, "Mezcalkings" being the zenith of this expression.  "Mezcalkings" is a half spoken, piano-driven number.  In many ways a typical BMC song, featuring an understated verse which picks up the excitement levels during the fuzz-laden chorus, but providing a little something extra, a little something different with the piano and spoken passages.

But that's only part of what this band does.  Usually running a bipolar gamut, Black Moth Cult's hard-edged riff-o-ramas are punctuated by quick-burst moments of math and lingering moods of contemplation.  Dynamism, harmony and fuzz are the name of the game.  Never is this more clear than in the hip thrusting and head banging groove of "From the Woods".  Again, melodic phrasing is given striking relief against the backdrop of hogshit funk.  Smells awful but sounds great!  Ah, breathe in those funky sounds, just drink them in!

"Six Love Goddesses" has more headnodding bounce to the ounce than a Roger & Zapp song, almost reminiscent of Moon Curse's driving soon-to-be-classic "Medicinecoma" before opening up onto a highway of fuzz for the chorus and going off-road for a strange and mathematical journey to the bridge.  "Vintage Wines" captures that seventies mood in the chord phrasing and brush-shuffle snare march, it sounds like a deep album cut from any number of big name groups of the decade.  When the fuzz kicks in, it's all the more ripping and wrenches the song back into the warm soil of the stoned underground.

I'm glad that I've welcomed Black Moth Cult into my household to gather their sounds around the house lights, drawn to the light while simultaneously smothering it in the flickering darkness in their numbers.  And take a moment to lose yourself in the awesome pen and ink album cover by Coven Illustration.  Skulls n' snakes n' tits n' moths have the makings of a vision quest.  I say, if the time is right, this is probably the kind of activity you should engage in.

Highlights include: "From The Woods" and "Six Love Goddesses"

Rating: 4/5

Total Run Time: 42:56

Timothey Gelly  - Vocals, crushed glass bag & hammer
Alexandre Baille - Guitar
Nicolas Morsard - Bass
Quentin Gullo - Drums

From: Toulon, France

Genre: Stoner

Reminds me of: Deville, Intronaut, Romero, Tsar Bomba

Release Date: March 2, 2013

Better Reviews:
Heavy Planet
Temple of Perdition
Welcome To The Void in Greek
Stoner Rock BBQ

Black Moth Cult facebook