Monday, 25 March 2013

Mount Salem - Endless (album review)

Cover artwork by Mat Moreno
While I was dickin' around all last summer, these four hellions from Chicago decided to form a band.  Well under a year later, they have released their debut EP, 'Endless' and I'm still just sittin; here dickin' around.  Soulful vocals courtesy of Emily Kopplin that are both powerful and feminine ride atop a broomstick of Sabbath inspired madcap riffs, dripping with evil funk.  Tasteful use of organ breathes wheezy life into the affair.  The foundation however is based on the deep low end, the black hole, if you will, out from which springs the band's sonic armada.

Sometimes you're unsure about a band at first.  You have your doubts about this that or t'other, but one thing that makes all that stuff go away in a real hurry is a riff like the one featured in "Lucid".  A riff like this doesn't pussyfoot around.  It's not a teaser, it's not a builder, it is a monolith.  All bullshit goes out the window with a riff like that one, far as I'm concerned a riff like that is what this blog is all about.  If I had any balls whatsoever I'd rename this place "The Riff From Lucid by Mount Salem" just so the message isn't lost, but I don't so I won't.  You get the idea.  Great stuff.

"Full Moon" takes things in a slightly bluesier direction, a bass-driven track full of graveyard mist illuminated by the full moon of Kopplin's vocals, a perfect example of how the bass holds this work together like the cosmic superstructure that holds the stars in place.  "Mescaline" is a short cowboy sounding interlude which is full of cool feelings.

"Hysteria" features another of those amazing riffs that makes me excited about the future of this band.  An unapologetically doomy sound all around with the slow and menacing riff backed by organ accompaniment and gravedigging drop outs and interludes.  Remember, this band is less than a year old.  Already they show a tremendous penchant for penning killer riffs.

Photo credit: Josh Kurpius
"The End" brings it all together, continuing the basic feeling of "Hysteria" with the riff from "Mescaline", giving the whole second half of the disc the look and feel of a mini-opera.  Cudos are well and truly due to the band for 'Endless' being a well-planned, well-executed debut.  They prove themselves capable of sloughing off amazing riffs and graveyard atmospherics, they have a great vocalist and the bassist proves worthy of the spotlight at times as well.

The band compares favorably to Blood Ceremony and Shocking Blue, so if you're into those bands, as I am, then don't be afraid to come into this EP with high expectations because they will be met.

Highlights include: "Lucid" and "Hysteria"

Rating: 4/5

Total Run Time: 33:37

Emily Kopplin - Vocals/Organ
Kyle Morrison - Lead Guitar
Mark Hewett - Bass Guitar
Cody Davidson - Drums

From: Chicago, Illinois

Genre: Doom, Rock, Stoner

Reminds me of: Alunah, Black Moth, Black Sabbath, Blood Ceremony, Electric Citizen, Shocking Blue

Release Date: February 18, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: "Whatchoo doin' in that graveyard boy?  Donchoo know it's after hours?  I can barely see you, fog's so thick.  Come here, let me get a closer look atchoo.  I -- dear Lawd whatchoo -- No!! -- AAaaaaargh!!!"

Better Review:
Dr. Doom's Lair
The Soda Shop

Mount Salem facebook
Mount Salem on Encyclopedia Metallum

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Bretus - In Onirica (album review)

Cover artwork by Sgraffito / Elaine NĂ­ Cuana (IRELAND)
We all had that one special tweenie summer where possibilities seemed limitless and ignorance of the future left us blissful.  Mine was full of going to places where I shouldn't have been.  One place in particular was a vacant two-story house down and across the street from my friend.  Shrouded by tall trees and bordered by an easily breachable chain-link fence, the house held no particular interest aside from its fortification which lent it a forbidden aspect.  So of course, we set forth to investigate.

After making sure no one saw us we opened the back door and entered a dark and topsy-turvey world.  This all has to do with Bretus, believe me.  The house was full of ... stuff.  And when I say full I mean nearly stuffed to the brim.  The bizarre thing about it was that the whole of the upper floor had been taken down and was lying dismantled amidst the detritus.  The walls were still up but no floor.  The house was a shell and its interior stuffed with ... stuff.  Ladders, half-used paint cans, rusted appliances and work tools, stacks of newspapers (it appeared the newspaper boy had gotten there before us), soiled mattresses, drywall, two by fours, you name it.  What really stuck out to me were the ladders.  There was something incredibly eerie about a house with no upper floor and ladders climbing to nowhere.  Or descending from nowhere.  Either way, whatever the hell it was that my friend and I were expecting to find this wasn't it.  This was a thoroughly dead house, gutted and stuffed like an Egyptian mummy.  A corpse home full of trash for maggots and possessed by some demonic junkyard spirit.

I guess, looking back, I was looking for stacks of old comic books or a box of rare and valuable hockey cards, thoughtlessly discarded as I knew sometimes happened.  Something to fire my pre-teen imagination.  What we found was a vision of the Dyatlov Pass incident in the form of a house, mysteriously pulverized on the inside but otherwise intact.

***

What if we had climbed those ladders?  Is it possible we'd have entered a portal to a harsh and brutal world of flying boulders and swinging axes in a swirling purple void?  Would we have caught a glimpse of the force which pulverized the house and presumably destroyed not only the bodies but the spirits of it's inhabitants?  Doubt not for Bretus have tapped into this force and recorded it.

Bretus play high energy, high voltage doom.  They lead the listener along by the nose and snap necks with their turn on a dime song structures and liquify brains with devastating force.  There's an anger in the guitar tone, a deep growl of warning of a hair trigger than might snap at a moment's notice.

***

It should be emphasized that Bretus play doom metal.  When the riffs are slowed down they cause whiplash, when there's speed involved the band snaps necks.  Their song structures are top notch, usually starting with a terrifically hypnotic riff, then changing direction playing at half or double speed for the bridge, then changing back just as suddenly.  The most striking example of this is in the superlative "The Dawn Bleeds".  I've tried to replicate that bumpy yet exciting structural ride in this write-up to -ahem- mixed results, but Bretus are expert at it.  Such structures create the impression that this band write many songs, then boil them down on record, fitting the pieces together like a jigsaw, just like Black Sabbath used to do it.  The band is Italian so of course there's an element of horror doom in there as well with ghostly swells of organ at just the right moments.  "The Black Sleep", the instrumental track that closes the album, takes this part of the band's sound and runs with it.  This is where they put on their Goblin shoes and go skull kicking.

If there's one single impression I expect listeners to walk away with after listening to this album it's the kick ass heavy riffs, that fall into place one after another like dominoes.  The next thing the listener will remember are the energetic vocals and song structures that will have you turning your head and doing double takes.

***

What is it about a band and their music that sets off certain and particular memories or images in the mind?  There's an oaken, organic quality to 'In Onirica' that reminds me of the old tall tree-lined gravel road that led to the strange hollow house.  The structures certainly evoke the spirit of the unexpected and an overall feeling of old horror flicks from some golden summer.  However they do it, Bretus takes me to some strange places.  Real places, or places that were real but are now long gone.  Bretus gives those places life, makes them real once again by piercing the veil of dimension by way of sheer concussive force.

Highlights include: "The Dawn Bleeds" and "Down in the Hollow"

Rating: 4.5/5



Tracklist:
1). Insomnia (7:50)
2). The Dawn Bleeds (5:38)
3). Down In The Hollow (5:28)
4). Leaves of Grass (2:04)
5). Escape (5:29)
6). Forest of Pain (4:46)
7). The Black Sleep (7:54)
Total Run Time: 39:08

Ghenes - Low Guitars/Bass
Zagarus - Vocals
Faunus - Guitars
Striges - Drums

From: Catanzaro, Italy

Genre: Traditional Doom Metal, Horror Doom, Prog

Reminds me of: Death SS, Gates of Slumber, Las Cruces, Mage, Pale Divine, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Sideburn, Terra Firma

Release Date: May 9, 2012

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Climbing ladders to furiously weird dimensions.

Better Reviews:
Doommantia
Temple of Perdition
Perkele in Italian
Sludgelord

Bretus official website
Bretus on facebook

GET IT HERE

+OUT SOON ON VINYL FROM BLOODROCK RECORDS

Valley of the Sun's Indiegogo campaign to record new album (News)

So, those amazing Cincinnati based stoner rockers Valley of the Sun have written a full-length album, tentatively called 'The Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk' which they plan on recording shortly.  They want to do the best job they possibly can with the recording so they have launched an Indiegogo campaign (not unlike kickstarter) and are looking for contributions.  After hearing their 2011 five song EP 'The Sayings of the Seers' I have complete faith in them to return on my investment and deliver an amazing album.

If you haven't heard or downloaded the EP you can do so on the player below.  It's a 'pay anything' deal on bandcamp but as I said if you haven't picked this one up it's a great way to contribute anything you want to the effort.



Here's a video appeal from the band:



At the time of this writing the band are about a quarter of the way to their goal of $8,000 with about four weeks to go before they begin to record.  They will record this album one way or the other, but they want it to sound as good as possible.  Their projected budget is outlined on the Indiegogo page.  The page features descriptions of multiple packages to pre-purchase the yet to be recorded album either as a digital download, a vinyl LP, with or without T-shirt, etc. plus a bunch of other really cool bonuses.

To contribute or just to look at what the band has to offer, check out the campaign page here.

Below is the summary from the campaign page.


Short Summary

Valley of the Sun started out in 2010 and quickly released our first EP "twothousandten".  We released our follow up EP "The Sayings of the Seers" in 2011.  After two EP's, we've decided it's time to put out a long player in 2013.  We've been working on writing since the Summer of 2011.  Some of the songs came quick, some were battles, but all are solid rockers and you're going to dig them.

What We Need & What You Get

We aren't on a record label and we don't have a huge amount of personal funds.  That's why we need your help.  Recording and releasing a record costs a lot of money, and although it can be expensive, we've figured out the best way to get the quality we think you deserve at the cheapest possible price.
Essentially, the success of this campaign will determine how amazing this record will become. We are set up for Flex Funding which means if we don't reach our goal, we are still getting the money that is raised. So, if we don't reach our goal, we will have to reevaluate how we are planning to do this record. Regardless, we are ready to deliver this thing however our campaign plays out.

The Impact

By taking part in this experiment you yourself are taking charge and helping to change how we make music. You are putting faith in us to come through and show you that we've learned a couple things over the years. Every time we've headed into the studio in the past, we've kept all the people who have supported this band in mind. The level of responsibility is so much higher this time.
With that in mind, we give you our word that we will not settle for “good enough” - we wont take any shortcuts, and above all – the money we raise in this thing will be reflected in the final product.
Here's to making our best album yet.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you don't know what to think about this idea and aren't sure you can commit – there are other ways you can help out. Spread the word! Tell your family and friends and let them know what's going on. We don't expect everyone who's listened to and enjoyed our music to jump on board, just let people know this is happening. With all the social networking and ways we now connect with one another, by posting links to this page you are reaching places we would never be able to reach.

Budget

Studio time:                                                        $5000
Record Pressing:                                                 $3000
Rewards cost:                                                     $1200
 
Travel expenses/lodging while recording:               $1000
 
indiegogo fees 7-9% of final $ raised:                       ???
 
Total..............................................................    $10,200

 
We're setting this thing at $8000, but anything we can raise above that really helps and will definitely be reflected in the quality of the record.  We appreciate your help in getting this done!

Saturday, 23 March 2013

Hour of Power 03/23/13 (playlist)



  1. Frankenstein Pays The Rent (The Mangled Dead / Hate Humans) 2013
  2. Monkey With a Wig (GravelRoad) 2013
  3. Cool To Hate (Mother Gun / Human EP) 2012
  4. Oncoming Fire (Odyssey) 2013
  5. Tower of Silence (Cathedral / The Last Spire) 2013
  6. Savage Dancer (Black Moth / single) 2013
  7. Frozen Awakening [rough mix] (Blizaro / Cornucopia Della Morte) 2013
  8. Blizaro 'Cornucopia Della Morte' album teaser
  9. Yorgan Mountain (Green Shade / ..Bright Interlude) 2012
  10. Vuorenmataja (Musta Risti / ST) 2012
  11. Chinese Eyes (Parasol Caravan / Use the Fuzz) 2012
  12. Stare Into The Sun (Cachimbo de Paz / Use The Fuzz) 2012
  13. Bald Bull (Gozu / The Fury of a Patient Man) 2013

Doom Charts for 03/23/13

Top 25 Songs
#). Song Title (artist/album)
  1. Run The Night (Salem's Pot / ST cassette)
  2. One (Torso / Inside EP)
  3. Rollin' (Motherslug / ST)
  4. Enslaved In The Icy Tundra (Desert Storm)
  5. MrWeasley (Spacefog / Purple Void)
  6. Submissive To Evil (Vestal Claret / Bloodbath)
  7. Bring Down The Rain (Sideburn / IV Monument)
  8. Hypocrite Christ (Stone Machine Electric / ST)
  9. The Soul's Midnight (Ice Dragon / The Soul's Midnight EP)
  10. Circle of Serpents (Year of the Goat / Angels' Necropolis)
  11. The Bearded Fool (Old Man Wizard / ???)
  12. Desert Sun (The Shooters / Planet of the Black Sun)
  13. Hypnotic Overdrive Machine (Necronomicon / The Queen of Death)
  14. Don't Play With Guns (The Black Angels / Indigo Meadow)
  15. No Good (Hound / Spirits Are Appearing)
  16. Green Shade ... Bright Interlude (Green Shade/ ..Bright Interlude)
  17. Deep Waters (Dryasdust / ST Demo)
  18. Baptized (Stonebringer / Ocean of the Brave)
  19. *Belladonna Wreath (Aleph Null / Belladonna EP)
  20. Karmageddon (Low Torque / ST)
  21. *Mind (The Heavy Eyes / Maera)
  22. Horse (White Bone Rattle / Creature of Curiosity)
  23. Your Armageddon (Manlord / ST)
  24. *Worship The Devil (Glitter Wizard / Hunting Gatherers)
  25. *Let The End Begin (Ancient VVisdom / Deathlike)
* New Song

Outgoing songs:
U Turn (The Quartet of Woah! / Ultrabomb)
Pitti Platsch Anoraknaroek (Voltron / Kaventsmann)
Mexico (Five Horse Johnson / The Taking of Blackheart)
The Humble Titan (Ice Dragon / single)
    Top 25 Albums
    #). artist - album title
    1. Neon Warship - ST
    2. Sideburn - IV Monument
    3. Spacefog - Purple Void
    4. Green Shade ... Bright Interlude
    5. March The Desert - ST
    6. DemonAuta - Caminando en la Luna EP
    7. Crag Dweller - Magic Dust
    8. Aleph Null - Belladonna EP
    9. Palm Desert - Rotten Village Sessions
    10. Egypt - Become the Sun
    11. Weed Priest - ST
    12. Year of the Goat - Angels' Necropolis
    13. Blizaro - Blak Majicians
    14. Wheelfall - Interzone
    15. Dryasdust - ST Demo
    16. Bretus - In Onirica
    17. Iron Hearse - Get In The Hearse
    18. Various Artists - Chilean Fuzz Comp.
    19. Abysmal Grief - Feretri
    20. Gozu - The Fury of a Patient Man
    21. Deep Space Destructors - II
    22. Cpt. Kronos - The Invocation EP
    23. The Heavy Eyes - Maera
    24. Devil - Gather The Sinners
    25. The Gentlemen Bastards - ST

    Friday, 22 March 2013

    Ice Dragon - The Soul's Midnight (album review)

    What began as a stolen weekend night of mead-drinking ended up, through a few twists and turns, as a four song EP by none other than the band Ice Dragon.  Trying to predict the band's next move is like trying to predict the movements of a wild animal:  there are certain paths or directions one might expect the band to head down based on their history, but when and which one remain forever shrouded in mystery, as it should be.  Usually they blaze their own trail, confounding many, but always earning well-deserved respect and converting a few new believers along the way.

    It would be unfair to call 'The Soul's Midnight' a return to form but it is a return to more familiar territory in the wake of the group's last two efforts, 'Greyblackfalconhawk' and the double sided single "Season of Decay" backed with "The Humble Titan".   The former traveled a depressed and anxious noiscape of drone while the latter displayed touches of shoegaze pop.  'The Soul's Midnight' largely shoos away those melancholic vapors and doffs the impenetrably dark glasses for a spaceman's visor.

    One night, the band released a single on their bandcamp page called "The Soul's Midnight".  The accompanying facebook message pleaded for friends and fans alike to take them seriously:
    We just finished a great bottle of homemade mead, given to us from our friends in the band Merlin. We can't figure out how to tag them because we're drunk. Anyway we made a new song too and rather than be assfaces and give a "release date" and leak the cover art and tracklisting and all that stupid bullshit bands do nowadays. HERE YOU GO. It's free. Don't make fun of us if it sounds bad, please. We made it tonight. We're drunk.
    Later the band re-mixed the song while high:
    So, we made a HIGH version of "The Soul's Midnight". The original is still on there and that is now the drunk version. We're not "signed" so we can do whatever the hell we want, and this is what we want. We hope you want it too.
    Later still, the band re-recorded the song altogether and that third version is now the official version one finds on the bandcamp album page.  The new version features cleaner and more lively vocals with a less murky sound.  This mead-inspired song is a slow ride down a dark tunnel.  Echoed and ghostly vocals, deep toned low end rumbling, esoteric background noises and slow and deliberate drumming.  To these ears it's the closest thing to the classic Ice Dragon sound the band has unleashed since 'Tome of the Future Ancients' dropped a year ago.  In between the band has released a total of 8 albums, EPs and/or singles, in various incarnations, exploring the far corners of the musical world without ever repeating a step in the process.  This one trips out beyond the pale and into the cosmos.

    Similarly, the next track "Understanding Ouroboros" has a somewhat less straight forward history of its own. It was originally released October 20th of last year as part of the A Gallery of Rogues II free compilation on Thrashead's bandcamp page.  Near as I can tell there are no differences between the version that appears on 'The Soul's Midnight' and 'Gallery of Rogues' aside from a superior mixing job with a re-imagined emphasis on guitar.  This song was added to what was "The Soul's Midnight" single soon after the "Get High Version" appeared.  Again, it's closer to classic Ice Dragon with those ghostly and mournful vocals taking center stage and a terrific crash-led drum riff.

    "Stellar Door" and "Winterwind" were then added to the mix and the "Get High Version" removed to finally turn "The Soul's Midnight" into a four-track EP, but even then, that wasn't the end of the story.  With "Stellar Door" Ice Dragon succeeded not only in planting a brilliant and beautiful image in the listener's collective heads, they somehow truly captured the spirit of what such a heavenly object might actually sound like with swirling static.  It's a stunning however necessary narrative step to get to the final statement of the EP, "Winterwind".  Like the other three vocal tracks on this EP "Winterwind" has been given the re-touch treatment.  From facebook:
    Joe said that the only album I could get all George Lucas-y on was "the soul's midnight" since it was weird to begin with. So I've been messing around. Winterwind is much cooler now I think. Fits that 3'oclock mood. I hear those bells all the time.
    The differences are noticeable right off the bat.  Where the original version feeds back to open the song, the "George Lucas-y" version fades in slowly during the feedback emphasizing guitar once again in the mix.  The drums are muted, especially cymbals in the new mix, with the drums possibly even having been re-recorded. If Ice Dragon only accomplish a single thing with this EP and it's multifarious forms it's the importance of mixing and mastering.  Importance is the wrong word, but they show the listener what mixing means to a song, how the slightest change can alter the mood of a work, vividly.

    The original "The Soul's Midnight" (now the "Drunk Version") and the "Get High Version" along with the original "Winterwind" should now be considered Ice Dragon relics, collectors items, if you'd like to call them such.  They would make for excellent box set material in the future.  (Dear Lord in Heaven, if you exist, please allow your agent Satan to unleash an Ice Dragon box set on the pitiless ruins of the future.)

    It's a testament to this band's work ethic (and my own sloth-like pace as a reviewer) that they have already put out two new EPs since the release of 'Soul's Midnight' (one as Tentacle, the other as The Mangled Dead).  'The Soul's Midnight' has a story to tell, both in the real world and in the world it creates.  It seems Ice Dragon have taken the best part of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Jupiter and Beyond) and turned it into this EP.

    Highlights include: "Understanding Ouroboros" and "The Soul's Midnight"

    Rating: 4/5

    Total Run Time: 23:00

    Ron Rochondo - Vocals, Synths, Drums
    Duane Carter - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Other Etc.
    Joe Confalone - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Other Etc.

    From: Boston, Massachusetts

    Genre: Rock, Stoner, Doom, Sludge, Drone, Experimental, Psychedelic

    Reminds me of: Soul Thief, 2001: A Space Odyssey

    Release Date: January 11, 2013

    Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: walk through glowing shimmering heavenly doorways into ...

    Better Review:
    Temple of Perdition

    Ice Dragon facebook

    Thursday, 21 March 2013

    Parasol Caravan / Cachimbo de Paz split - Use The Fuzz (album review)

    Cover artwork by Johan Jaccob (Glowsun).
    Recently, I had the pleasure of discovering Parasol Caravan's 2010 debut EP and was impressed with their funk-slathered groove riffs and the soulful vocals of Alexander Krietchbaum.  So I was pleasantly surprised when Bertram Kolar, one of the funk-slatherers himself, contacted me about saying a few words towards this split album.  I'm not sure exactly how it slipped under my radar for a whole year but it shows up on screen now and hopefully, this will be an introduction for any readers like myself, who has suffered from radar deficiency for the past year.

    Parasol Caravan come bounding onto the stage on "The Barbers Snake".  It shows a band ready for their trip in the spotlight.  Complex dynamics with virtuosic performances by the band's twin guitarists, Kolar and Richard Reikersdorfer combine with Krietchbaum's soulful vocals to make a big impression on the listener.  This is a band that has an encyclopedia of tricks up their sleeve and will pull out all the stops to get the point across.

    Parasol Caravan use their time on this split wisely, slicing their four cuts down the middle showcasing their various moods.  The songs all remain identifiably stoner rock but the band finds time to stitch together a crazy quilt of ideas and influences.  The opener is a straight-up high energy blast of stoner rock while "Psychotic Fever" pulls on some more contemplative strings, tinged with blues and booze-fuelled regret.  Something only really hinted at on "The Barbers Snake" is the group's jazz funk gymnastics which speak fluently on "Big Kahuna".

    Parasol Caravan
    Parasol Caravan's final contribution comes in the form of "Chinese Eyes" which features a world-beating riff that somehow manages to combine elements of Black Sabbath, Tool, Kyuss and Led Zeppelin all in one shot.  The riff and the rough and moody vocals makes the song one of the true standouts of the record.  Not to be forgotten in the mix of course is the drumming of Vincent Böhm, who has his work cut out for him by the aforementioned complex dynamics of each song but simply slices and dices the band's four appearances with complementary and syncopated rhythms.  Never a background figure, Böhm puts on a clinic on his way out the door leaving a distinctive impression, letting the world know that Parasol Caravan is home to a mad scientific and concussive drumming force.

    Cachimbo de Paz's side of the record starts off tentatively enough.  Guitarist / vocalist Chu noodles around on the guitar, searching for a riff.  But when the fuzz pedal is depressed and the band finds their groove ... look out.

    Cachimbo de Paz was completely off the radar until I received this split in the mail.  The first thing that strikes the listener upon hearing this band's opening statement "Stare Into the Sun" is the devastatingly slow simmering fuzz.  I was never a guitarist so I can't tell you exactly how the effect is achieved, but it sounds like one of the frequency nobs is turned down slightly and the fuzz channel is opened up and allowed to breathe creating a slow pulsing static effect.  The sound is brilliant and heavier than lead mountains.  The next thing that strikes the listener is the distinctive voice of Chu.  It's a deep, low growl, a whiskey-toughened vocal that may bring to mind Tom Waits.  Less raw, but deeper.

    "Cachimbo" is the band's shortest number, somewhat of an introduction (even though it comes second) or vision statement.  It's a mostly instrumental number with a single spoken verse in Spanish.

    Typically, Chu rumbles and shambles through his vocals but finds the will to explore melody in "Lady" to strong results.  Cachimbo de Paz takes the time to explore the forests of funk first felled by Parasol Caravan on closing track "Coyotes on Peyote".  The music is as demented as the title suggests, feedback whines and speedfreak break beats running around in a panic atop a solid bass groove that underpins and grounds the entire affair, keeping one foot in reality.

    Cachimbo de Paz
    While both bands on this split hail from the city of Linz in Austria, there's not much to tie their sound together.  Parasol Caravan is a high energy, almost carnival-like brand of heavy funkin' southern groove, Cachimbo de Paz is closer to dark space rock.  Indeed, the very title of the split 'Use The Fuzz' should give listeners somewhat of a clue as to what to expect on this disc with Parasol Caravan dedicating themselves to The Light Side of the Fuzz, while Cachimbo de Paz are the Sith Lords of the affair, given over to The Dark Side of the Fuzz.

    'Use the Fuzz' is an excellent showcase for both bands whose distinctive sounds are punctuated further by the presence of the other.

    Highlights include: "The Barbers Snake" and "Stare Into The Sun"

    Rating: 4/5




    Total Run Time: 45:21

    From: Linz, Austria

    Genre: Stoner, Psychedelic

    Reminds me of: The Bad Light, Cube, DSW

    Release Date: February 12, 2012

    Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Aerial battles with the fate of a galaxy hanging in the balance.

    Better Reviews:
    Parasol Caravan on Stoner Hive
    Cachimbo de Paz on Stoner Hive

    Parasol Caravan facebook
    Cachimbo de Paz facebook

    GET IT HERE
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