Ritual King - The Infinite Mirror (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1 (Provogue Records) [Matt Bladen]
One of the key holders to the modern blues evolution Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been a blues rock hotshot since 1995. Since then he's been nominated for 5 Grammy's, released a glut of material and is recognised as one of the most notable names in the blues rock/Americana. With Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1, Shepherd shows his maturity, the same kind that he's had ever since his days as a hotshot kid new on the blues scene. Now however it's songwriting that has been honed over years of touring and recording.
I’m predictable when it comes to stuff that Ripple Music puts out. I believe the boss of this blog called me Ripple’s biggest fan and this may not be too far from the truth. How can I not be when the quality of the stuff Todd puts out is like the new one from the UK’s Ritual King?
Upon first listen I immediately messaged my group of like-minded music nuts that The Infinite Mirror was going to blow their minds, and I challenge anyone to tell me that this is not the case, because The Infinite Mirror is next level awesome. The band brings its psych/desert rock hybrid to new heights with six new tracks, each one better than the next brining us a solid album of the year candidate.
The acoustic opening harkens to something from Masters Of Reality on the track Flow State until the swirling desert rock psych kicks in and transforms you to another state of mind. The riffs are killer, and the dreamy vocals sounds like desert rock floating on a cloud. When these guys decide to rock, they bring it like the best stoner rock bands out there today. This is nine minutes of breathtaking stoner psych that hangs with anything released this year.
The acoustic opening harkens to something from Masters Of Reality on the track Flow State until the swirling desert rock psych kicks in and transforms you to another state of mind. The riffs are killer, and the dreamy vocals sounds like desert rock floating on a cloud. When these guys decide to rock, they bring it like the best stoner rock bands out there today. This is nine minutes of breathtaking stoner psych that hangs with anything released this year.
Worlds Divide builds like a rocket ship about to blast off and wow does it when the riff kicks in. Maybe my favorite riff of the year. Love the low-end sound to this track and the vocals fit perfect with music. How about the breakdown in the middle with that solo and when it brings it back to the riff? Or when all the players take their turns? So great. Landmass is another gigantic track named perfectly as this is huge, from the bigger than life riffs and all-encompassing layered vocals, with the soft-heavy-soft thing flowing expertly.
The fact that Ritual King is a trio is amazing given how huge they sound. Speaking of huge, the almost 12 minute Tethered is a heavy blues adventure with more amazing riffs and solos, some nice bass work, and funky psych guitar. The closing title track is as beautiful a song as you will hear on a psych/stoner record. It floats overhead as if you are experiencing the song as an out of body experience while the chill psych guitar entrances you. Just when you think you are going to float away, the riffs return to bring us home emphatically.
Another Ripple Music classic and album of the year candidate, but you knew that was how I was going to feel about The Infinite Mirror. But this is not just a Ripple fan boy talking, experiencing the perfect blend of stoner psych goodness done by the new masters of the genre, Ritual King. 10/10
Temic - Terror Management Theory (Season Of Mist) [Matt Bladen]Yeah ok, I like this, no getting around it. Creatively founded by former Haken sound designer/keyboardist Diego Tejeida, Temic (which means dream in Nahuatl an Uto-Aztecan language), is his project, the current Devin Townsend keys player bringing in guitarist Eric Gillette who he played with in Mike Portnoy's Shattered Fortress, drummer Simen Sanders of jazz metal band Shining and singer Fredrik Klemp of Maraton.
Gillette and Tejeida planted the seeds of this act while they both in Portnoy's band working on it through the pandemic to create a band/debut record that brings together the sounds of Devin Townsend, Leprous, Pain Of Salvation and Threshold too. Vocally Klemp carries the emotion of these bands, his majestic cleans soaring above the dynamic, focussed modern progressive metal, carrying some impressive hooks that will definitely appeal to Leprous fans on tracks such as Once More or the undulating Falling Away.
Away from the vocals, which I could go on about all day as I love this style of voice. But Terror Management Theory is driven by the virtuoso performances from these extremely skilled session players. Just take a listen to the final track Mothallah, it manages to bring Dream Theater-like rhythmic groove as Simen Sanders links in with Jacob Umansky of djent band Intervals, who plays bass on this record. It's a magnificent end that never tries to steal the show just giving you the ideal closure, the additon of the Mosaic Gospel Choir and the Garden State Threshold Choir just to bring that touch of class.
They set a tone with the intro track TMT, the industrial tones of Diego Tejeida creating those cinematic soundscapes he has brought to all of the bands he's been a part of. They segue into Through The Sands Of Time, a 7 minute opener that plays with dynamics, synths perculating under djent riffs from Eric Gillette who's somewhat of an under appreciated genius if you don't know anything about Neal Morse but he has some serious chops as a player. They let loose with some jazzy time signatures on Count Your Losses, before Skeletons adds a creepy Separate Ways-esque keyboard riff and an elongated run time where there are a few shifts.
The dramatic classic prog metal of Acts Of Violence brings thing back to what you'd expect but it's no filler, Paradigm too has that lovely mix of classic and modern. Friendly Fire is all about those brilliant synths on the albums only instrumental, each member getting to show what they're made of as technicians. Temic's debut is a prog lovers dream, balancing the classics of Dream Theater or Fates Warning with the more modern realms of Leprous, Soen and Pain of Salvation. I've had it on repeat since I got it. 9/10
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1 (Provogue Records) [Matt Bladen]
One of the key holders to the modern blues evolution Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been a blues rock hotshot since 1995. Since then he's been nominated for 5 Grammy's, released a glut of material and is recognised as one of the most notable names in the blues rock/Americana. With Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1, Shepherd shows his maturity, the same kind that he's had ever since his days as a hotshot kid new on the blues scene. Now however it's songwriting that has been honed over years of touring and recording.
Settling down at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the history of that area in songwriting and his long time working relationship with Marshall Altman, driving him to flex his muscles a bit more making a pact with Altman and co-vocalist Noah Hunt that nothing would be off limits in the writing.
As this is the third album he's made with Marshall, KWS considers this to be the third chapter in their collective book and if you want big standard bluesing then go elsewhere as KWS is much more than that. Yes there's guitar, more guitar than you can shake a stick at, Shepherd a player's player, but there's thought in the vocals, in the compositions, the production to make things sound fresh and modern but still steeped in the history of the writers but also their surroundings.
Recorded in three days, with all the band in one place and as few overdubs as possible to keep the authenticity of their live performance. Shepherd kept 7 songs from the writing sessions and recorded them here, keeping space for a cover, choosing Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting by Elton John. Now you'll probably have heard it on AEW Collision if you're a wrestling fan or at least heard the Nickelback cover but KWS keeps it simple by upping the party with his cover emulating the six stringing of his friend Davey Johnstone, Elton's guitar player for the majority of his career.
The album itself though, florishes with the rocking Sweet & Low, a track with a bit of Black Stone Cherry, the parping brass on Best Of Times and Man On A Mission adds some southern sass, You Can't Love Me evokes the Muscle Shoals laid back attitude as the classic blues of Ease My Mind ends the record with a bit of throwback to the blues rock history. KWS continues his blues rock legacy with Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1, throwing in some curveballs along the way. 8/10
Bull Elephant - The Long War (Eat Lead And Die Music) [Rich Piva]
Bull Elephant is a UK based anonymous four-piece collective per their Bandcamp bio. What I say is that whoever these guys ae they are musically all over the place. Weird was the description provide in the promo for their new album, The Long War. These guys play doom metal but all over the place doom metal. Multiple different vocal styles, tempos, and instrumentation leaves your head spinning and not sure what to think…and that is just the first song. There is nothing easy about The Long War, but is it any good?
I’m still trying to decide the answer to that question even after a half dozen listens. On the first song, Expansion From Perceived Reality, you have around five different vocal styles from very clean to straight up Cookie Monster. You have doomy riffs until an acoustic chill breakdown comes in then breaks down again reminding me of the most spastic side of Mr. Bungle. You have doom, death metal, back metal, post metal, grunge, and sludge all in the first eight minutes. I am tired just typing this. It’s a lot.
Bull Elephant is a UK based anonymous four-piece collective per their Bandcamp bio. What I say is that whoever these guys ae they are musically all over the place. Weird was the description provide in the promo for their new album, The Long War. These guys play doom metal but all over the place doom metal. Multiple different vocal styles, tempos, and instrumentation leaves your head spinning and not sure what to think…and that is just the first song. There is nothing easy about The Long War, but is it any good?
I’m still trying to decide the answer to that question even after a half dozen listens. On the first song, Expansion From Perceived Reality, you have around five different vocal styles from very clean to straight up Cookie Monster. You have doomy riffs until an acoustic chill breakdown comes in then breaks down again reminding me of the most spastic side of Mr. Bungle. You have doom, death metal, back metal, post metal, grunge, and sludge all in the first eight minutes. I am tired just typing this. It’s a lot.
Blackened Chaos Horizon lives up to its name, with some serious unrelenting old school blackened death metal until it slows down, and you get some high-pitched screams around a slowed down more death doom pace. It’s a lot. Berlin Falling starts out with a soft acoustic opening until we get a more traditional doom vibe with vocal growls, but that doesn’t last long until the higher pitched screams join into the fun. I do dig the guitar tone on The Long War, especially during the brief solo on this song. The soft-heavy-soft continues but also with machine guns in the background.
It’s a lot. Zentrum Der Neuen Welt doesn’t make this listen any easier as the death doom is accompanied by some spoken word in the background, until you get the clearest instrumentation on The Long War and my favorite part of the whole album about 90 seconds into the track. It sounds a bit like Type O but when Kenny sings. The closing title track is thirteen minutes of lots of twists and turns to the point your neck hurts.
I mentioned it a few times, but to sum up The Long War, it’s a lot. There is so much going on that it is almost too much, like it dangles precariously over the line of too much and will eventually inevitably fall in. Ther are some fun parts but if you are looking for a tough and challenging listen and don’t mind things that may a lot, check it out. For me overall it was too all over the place and made me more anxious than anything else. 5/10
I mentioned it a few times, but to sum up The Long War, it’s a lot. There is so much going on that it is almost too much, like it dangles precariously over the line of too much and will eventually inevitably fall in. Ther are some fun parts but if you are looking for a tough and challenging listen and don’t mind things that may a lot, check it out. For me overall it was too all over the place and made me more anxious than anything else. 5/10