A polish/Japanese psych rock band whose bio says “If Roky Erickson were alive, he would have liked it.” You can’t get much more up may alley with that description then how AcidSitter set my expectations. It’s not just the quote that excites me with their latest output and debut full length, Make Acid Great Again.
The members of AcidSitter are veterans of a bunch of bands so they have been around the scene, but nothing I have heard can top what these guys are doing as a collective unit. Make Acid Great Again is eight tracks of killer heavy and bluesy psychedelic rock that will blow you away from the first note. Not just psych noodling here as the tracks are super catchy and expertly played as well. The production and sound quality is exactly how I like it, raw and never too polished, as this sounds like the guys got together a hammered this record out in their garage in Krakow. This is the highest compliment I can give on production values, so yeah it sounds perfect for what it is.
The opener, named the same as the band name, which always makes me happy, is a great psych rock trip with all sorts of fuzzy guitar work and a killer rhythm section driving this rocker. I love the opening guitar part on Comets and that Roky mention comes to light here as you know these guys have some 13th Floor Elevators in their collection. We have some synth action on the funky It’s fine which is a more chill trip that floats above your head while you are experiencing something out of body until you crash back a bit with some killer heavy psych.
The Healing Journey is the true chill song on Make Acid Great Again, with both Hawkwind and Pink Floyd vibes competing for top billing. Lots of cool noises swimming around in this one. Sweet Dreams is all kinds of frantic psych, with multiple tempo changes and cool instrumentation while Last Few Days sounds like a nice bit of UK based 90s indie psych that had a moment back then, like if Verve got heavier instead of more pop after A Storm In Heaven. I love how AcidSitter turns up the tempo on Roller Coaster and the true psych freak out on the album, like if Roky joined Hawkwind when Lemmy left. I love the closer, Staywatch, that reminds me a bit of the Black Angels in all the best ways.
AcidSitter has one of the psych rock records of the year with Make Acid Great Again. Dose yourself with equal parts Hawkwind, 13th Floor Elevators, Black Angels, and early Pink Floyd and get ready to take quite the mind-bending trip. Amazing stuff. 9/10
Hinayana - Shatter And Fall (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Shatter And Fall is the second album from American melodeath band Hinayana. Attempting a darker work than before they have increased the techincality but the emotion too appealing to fans of Insomnium and Amorphis along with modern grooves that burst out of your speakers due to Casey Hurd (vocals/guitar) and Kevin Butler's production and the mastering of prog/death wizard Dan Swanö.
AcidSitter has one of the psych rock records of the year with Make Acid Great Again. Dose yourself with equal parts Hawkwind, 13th Floor Elevators, Black Angels, and early Pink Floyd and get ready to take quite the mind-bending trip. Amazing stuff. 9/10
Hinayana - Shatter And Fall (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Shatter And Fall is the second album from American melodeath band Hinayana. Attempting a darker work than before they have increased the techincality but the emotion too appealing to fans of Insomnium and Amorphis along with modern grooves that burst out of your speakers due to Casey Hurd (vocals/guitar) and Kevin Butler's production and the mastering of prog/death wizard Dan Swanö.
Along with Hurd are Erik Shtaygrud (guitar), Daniel Vieira (drums), Michael Anstice (keys) and Matt Bius (bass), this five piece attempting to add new wrinkles to the melodeath style with chilling doom from the introspective start Slowly Light The Candles which makes its way into the organ drenched chug of Mind Is A Shadow that features Vincent Jackson of Aether Realm, the two parts combining on the epic feeling How Many Dreams which is melodeath 101.
Techincally surges though this release from the relentless blast beat gallop that can downshift into doom metal trot (to use horse venacular), the guitars unleashing aggressive death metal distortion, twin harmonies and on From Our Dark Moments, acoustics used brilliantly into the anthemic Reverse The Code, the cornerstone of this record is Triptych Visions but A Tide Unturning, which features Tuomas Saukkonen of Wolfheart, will fight it for that title.
Closing out this second album is a re-recording of their song Taken from their 2014 demo, this version it's fully formed self, reliant on the keys and organs. American but with a frozen vein of Scandi influence, Shatter And Fall brings doom and gloom. 7/10
Shylmagoghnar - Convergence (Napalm) [Matt Bladen]
Not often that bands go from a duo to a solo act but that's what has happed with black metal act Shylmagoghnar, Convergence is the third album from Nimblkorg closing out his trilogy of albums started with Emergence in 2014 and went through Transience in 2018. This final installment is an inward journey towards death, the lyrical concept encompassing all the facets of how death can effect a person and that these things need to be overcome before you can move on. This instalment more personal than previous ones as it's dedicated to his late mother.
Not often that bands go from a duo to a solo act but that's what has happed with black metal act Shylmagoghnar, Convergence is the third album from Nimblkorg closing out his trilogy of albums started with Emergence in 2014 and went through Transience in 2018. This final installment is an inward journey towards death, the lyrical concept encompassing all the facets of how death can effect a person and that these things need to be overcome before you can move on. This instalment more personal than previous ones as it's dedicated to his late mother.
Shylmagoghnar is then a atmospheric black metal album, as likely to drift off into enigmatic introspection as it is to come back down to full assault blasting. The melodic and the morose fused tightly, similarly to way bands such a Saor, Fen and Winterfylleth have been the flag bearers of. With over an hour's worth of music, Convergence is weighty, the composing of Nimblkorg much more expansive than many one man shows, but it still has that fizzy, rawness to the recording that fans of extreme metal really favour.
Bending against so many genre 'rules', it opens with the 10 minutes instrumental that captures the naturalistic textures beautifully before both Follow The River and Threshold combine black, death and even power metal on Strata. As Gardens Of The Erased dabbles with synthwave, which Infinion keeps though the real art of this album is heard on The Sea where all of the genres I've mentioned are brought together under a folk metal flag. Shylmagoghnar has amassed quite an oeuvre, but Convergence is a fitting conclusion to this trilogy, where things go from here could be anyone's guess. 8/10
Jesse James Dupree - Breathing Fire (Mighty Loud) [Rich Piva]
In case you didn’t know, Jesse James Dupree is the chainsaw wielding lead guy of the American rock band Jackyl. Now this can go a couple of different ways, and your reviewer will be unbiased even with some potential hate I could receive if I don’t’ like his new solo album, Breathing Fire. But if there is one thing you can expect from anything Jackyl related it is a super fun rock and roll party full of all sorts of debauchery.
Jesse James Dupree - Breathing Fire (Mighty Loud) [Rich Piva]
In case you didn’t know, Jesse James Dupree is the chainsaw wielding lead guy of the American rock band Jackyl. Now this can go a couple of different ways, and your reviewer will be unbiased even with some potential hate I could receive if I don’t’ like his new solo album, Breathing Fire. But if there is one thing you can expect from anything Jackyl related it is a super fun rock and roll party full of all sorts of debauchery.
So, do we get that black out level drunk from the ten tracks on Breathing Fire or a slight wine cooler buzz? Well do you like AC/DC and his main band Jackyl? If so, this will be right up your alley. This is fun straight-ahead rock and roll sung in his signature high pitched whisky drenched voice and I am here for it.
The opener, Lay It On Me is AC/DC worship in all the best ways and works perfect with his vocal style. This is pretty much what you get across the ten songs on Breathing Fire. There are no gimmicks here like you sometimes get with his main band, just kick ass rock, like on Never Gets Old and the title track. It's Not Love is another strong track that has a solo taken right off Highway To Hell. Stranded is the Dirty Deeds of Breathing Fire while the best track is the ripper Born To Ride The Lightning that even La Chinga would be proud of, with the fun rocker Kill The Sunshine not too far behind in quality.
If there is one complaint, it may sound too much like AC/DC, but is that really a bad thing? There are millions of worse bands to worship, so I am fine with it. It does get a bit repetitive, so maybe a song or two less would have streamlined this a bit, but I am nitpicking considering what I thought I was going to write when this one was assigned to me. I thought Breathing Fire would be something I would listen to review and throw away, but JJD brings the straight ahead no frills and full of balls rock that you wish you heard more of these days. 7/10
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