At Devil Dirt - (2013) Plan B: Sin Revolución no hay Evolución

First of all I'd like to apologize for the lack of reviews lately. With that being said, I was lucky enough to acquire the new album from the Chilean two-piece "At Devil Dirt". With the digital release approaching on October 30th, I thought I better throw a few words out about this amazing recording.

I have been a fan of At Devil Dirt ever since the first release a couple years ago. It's always a pleasure to hear something new from the band. This being the third full length from them, and in my humble opinion... the best work they have done to date. We not only get the massive guitar tone, the thundering drums and harmonic vocals we've come to expect from this dynamic duo, but we also get a concept album of sorts that touches on torture, corporate greed, politics, and religion. Fairly heavy topics for a "stoner" band, right? The band posted a link to their Facebook page, urging listeners to check out this clip for a better understanding of the lyrics on Plan B: Sin Revolución no hay Evolución. I urge everyone to do so as well.

Combining sounds by bands like Fudge Tunnel, Celtic Frost, Alice in Chains, Kyuss and Pink Floyd with a modern bowel shaking production is what At Devil Dirt does. It's original sounding, and accessible to music lovers of any genre. They have their own brand. I could hear one measure of almost any track and know its them right away. That's the mark of individuality and timelessness. And they seem to keep expanding on an already solid blueprint. Making a great album from start to finish is a rare thing these days. Setting up the dynamics in every song, mixing emotions within the music in just that certain way that makes the listener really listen and crave to hear more. Make sure you put this at the top of your "must hear" list. 

--Adam W

Palm Desert - (2013) Rotten Village Sessions

Born from the dried earth. Raised by the god’s of heat and dust. Made of wild Indian blood. Unchased by the desert flames. Fed by the sand. Drunk on burned fuel addicted to sun chasing solarland residents… the desert… PALM DESERT

Almost three years have passed since the last album which was a really pleasant acquaintance. And now they are back in the saddle again and it appears they have worked a little extra in both songwriting and production, which has paid dividends. On the new album 'Rotten Village Sessions' their strings are sharper than ever and they have broadened their musical skills a bit which explores both psychedelia and progressive rock.

 

The 5^th album kicks off right away and the glowing 'Down the Odyssey' cuts itself like a manic cleaver through the fuzzy sound-scapes. There is tons of fuzzyness and accurate riffs, and the singer belching desert sand in the most constructive way. The second titbit 'Till The Sun Goes Down' runs pretty much in the same vein, but has a more progressive attribute which also offers an intense treatment of heavy ass kicking. The last track 'White Wolf' is one of my absolute favorites which digs deep furrows in the sand. With its almost 13 minutes is "the largest pearl in the collection"

The feeling of sun, fun and desert sand are still there, and essentially the Poles are still strongly influenced by DO-I-HAVE-TO-SPELL-IT-OUT... Ky... and its successors. But as I pointed out earlier Palm Desert dares to loosen up more on this album, and their music has matured which makes the whole thing more nuanced than before. Together with the previous 'Falls of the Wastelands' the new album is the best they've done so far. Among the nine tracks you will find lots of goodies!

-Tobias Beament-

Desert Storm - (2013) Horizontal Life

UK stonerrockers Desert Storm boast gigantic riffs, sludge and blues grooves. Their recent release, Forked Tongues, features a vast dynamic range. The five piece operation based in Oxford first formed in 2007, hitting the local rock scene with full force. Now having torn up multiple cities across the UK and festivals such as the mighty Bulldog Bash; on top of playing with the likes of Orange Goblin, Taint, Weedeater, Zoroaster, CKY, Winnebago Deal, Firebird and Black Spiders they're well underway spreading the noise.

So this landed on my doorstep the other day, I had no idea Desert Storm were dropping a new album this year. I remember being hammered by their last album "Forked Tongues". So needless to say I was all giddy to hear it. It takes all the cool stuff the band has done before. The heavy groovin' blues metal, tasty guitar riffs the southern metal vibe and expands upon it. Sounding bigger badder and heavier, alot like Clutch at times, the older heavier Clutch stuff. This ones gonna get some serious rotation. Awesome from start to finish. Buy. -Adam-