Take a huge dose of Queens of the Stone Age – no, that’s enough, you need more than that – throw in psychedelia care of Blue Cheer and a couple of handfuls of fuzzed out distorted guitar and plenty of early Seventies over the top rock and combine it with a Hammond Organ and vocals that are forced out, and you may just come close to what this California quartet sound like. According to their biography, from the depths of the unknown canyon comes a rock force that has undeniable power and style. Steeped in ancient tradition and ritualistic sacrifices this force continually bludgeons the masses who are compelled to witness them. Their heavy riffs continually snap the necks of anyone sent to challenge them. The wild thunder broom undertones growl from on high, and will never be denied. Powerful rhythms shake the very ground they walk on, and those who are lucky enough to witness this spine crushing quartet will undoubtedly never be the same. Anthony the riff Lord, Lennon the bass wizard, Lance the heaviest of shred, and Jess the power thwack and thud will always leave your neck barely able to hold your head up. So now you know.
What these guys have done quite cleverly, is that amongst all the swagger and posturing they totally understand what makes a good rock song, and have thrown plenty of melody and catchy hooks in with all the distortion that grabs the ear and drags the listener to a place they might not actually want to go. There is also a Rocket From The Crypt feel at times, with some interesting horns, and by the end of the album I found that almost in spite of myself I had really enjoyed playing it. So, I put it on again. This style of music can often come across as boring and repetitive, but they have managed to bring something new to the genre so that the listener stays interested right to the end. Not a simple task with this much distortion, bottom end, and everything turned to the max and being pounded out. This is also available to stream on Bandcamp so why not try it out?
