Don’t let the hipster-ish, vaguely Zodiac Mindwarp-ish band name mislead/ dissuade you: these guys write songs, actual complete songs, worth listening to.
After closely studying Bill’s “Best of 2011” list I got a bit hooked on this one.
“I’ll cut you down” sounds a bit like The Devil’s Blood, and “Over and Over Again” like something that would rock out the car speakers in your ’78 LTD– Kansas, or UFO even (anachronistically)… there’s a great main riff.
“Curse in the Trees” is a Satanic lysergic high, not unlike “Cornucopea” with Paul McCartney singing.
Melodically-speaking, this a bit like the White Album, actually– though what with the riffs and the Satantic content, it’s almost like The Dark Gray Album.
It’s not quite Black. It shakes its ass too hard.
“I’m Here to Kill You,” continues the Beatles association: it’s like McCartney and Lennon singing while King Crimson play their version of Sabbath covers.
And, it’s worth noting, they attain this heaviness while often in standard tuning (though they seem to be in several tunings throughout the record, generally Db)– there’s little detuning necessary here, apparently.
“13 Candles” loses the momentum somewhat, sounding like an Alabama Thunderpussy outtake as played by Dokken– like attempted southern rock or metal.
Actually, yanno what? Scratch that. The more I hear this song, the more I like it. It’s a pleasant earworm. The groove and primary riff wormed its way to my heart.
“Ritual Knife,” aside from the sinister title, sounds like Pink Floyd if they worshiped the devil, and “Withered Hand of Evil,” with its female choir, sounds like an update, and a good one, of Sabbath’s “Supertzar.”
Overall: it’s nothing new, but what it does, it does with excellence, grace, style and ease. “ExGray Steez,” if you will.
And you will.
Šawtooth Ŵave 