Psychedelic Rock

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    Messa - Close (2022)

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    Completely blowing us away with their even more refined and enigmatic mixture of Doom and Psychedelic Metal with tons of lush atmospheric elements, today we have Messa and their latest opus “Close”. If you thought the band’s first two full-length releases were awesome, this one takes things to a whole new level. Delivering over 64 minutes of trance-inducing music, this release will most likely end up at the top of our best albums of 2022 list.

    Slowly building up anticipation, “Suspend” quickly escalates into a powerful mixture of crushing distorted riffs and Sara Bianchin siren-like vocals. This track perfectly evolves into more Psychedelic and atmospheric territories as it progresses into more free-flowing pieces like “Dark Horse”, “Rubedo”, and the sultry “Orphalese”. There are obvious comparisons to be made to Jess and the Ancient Ones and Jex Thoth, but Messa manages to craft an aura of uniqueness around their music.

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    Jess and the Ancient Ones - Vertigo (2021)

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    After a four year wait, we have Finland’s Psychedelic Rockers Jess and the Ancient Ones finally back with their mesmerizing “Vertigo” release. Being huge fans of the band since their self-titled debut, we are excited to hear how their music continues to evolve and deliver warm and fuzzy vibes. Highly recommended for fans of bands like Jex Thoth, Purson, and even Tribulation, this release unleashes around 40 minutes of superbly crafted and highly groovy music.

    The album kicks off with the mysterious guitars of “Burning Of The Velvet Fires”, and as soon as Jess’s vocals come to light, the mood turns sultry and enigmatic. We particularly love how the band uses synths and crafty drums to create immersive Psychedelic experiences that are perfectly adorned by Jess’s distinctive vocals and Thomas Corpse’s playful guitars, as heard in pieces like “World Paranormal”, “Talking Aboard”, and the funky “Talking Board”.

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    White Void - Anti (2021)

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    Led by the extremely busy Lars Are Nedland, White Void is an old-school Psychedelic/Occult Rock outfit that should not be missed. Unleashing their debut “Anti”, the band delivers over 46 minutes of majestically crafted and completely intoxicating music from start to end. If you are a fan of bands like Jess and the Ancient Ones, Purson, Sabbath Assembly, plus can’t get enough of Lars vocals in the latest Borknagar release, this release perfectly combines both.

    Oozing grooviness, “Do. Not. Sleep.” opens with release with commanding style and a very warm and fuzzy retro vibe. The ripping guitar leads and crafty drumming nicely bleeds into the darker “There is No Freedom but the End”, as Lars' voice takes an enigmatic tone and the fuzzy synths create a very embracing atmosphere. The mood nicely varies between tracks as “Where You Go, You'll Bring Nothing” takes a more introspective pace and “The Shovel and the Cross” keeps things enigmatic with a hectic pace alongside the catchy guitars and synths.

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    Hail Spirit Noir - Eden in Reverse (2020)

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    For some reason a band like Opeth and their newest Progressive/Psychedelic antics, while great sounding, they usually put us to sleep. Contrastingly, Greece’s Hail Spirit Noir and their latest newfound Psychedelic/Progressive endeavors incite a great level of curiosity and engagements from us. Unleashing “Eden in Reverse”, the band delivers a mixture of their weird avant-gardeness of their earlier days and trippy Proggy/Psych brilliance, perfectly delivered in seven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of captivating music.

    The album opens up with the more traditional old-school Prog/Space rock of bands like Hawkwind and Magnum on pieces like “Darwining Beasts” and “Incense Swirls”. While catchy, we didn’t really get turned fully into the release until “Alien Lip Reading” comes in with a certain weird Solefald sounding angle, creating captivating guitar melodies and hypnotic vocal arrangements. This track nicely turns the release into a very interesting and completely trippy experience as it sounds like your old prog/space rock, but with a fresher and more dynamic edge.

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    Insect Ark - The Vanishing (2020)

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    Crafting a haunting atmosphere with crushing walls of sound and eerie synths, today we have Insect Ark and their crushing release “The Vanishing”. With a certain minimalist and drone edge, the band’s music creates cavernous avenues for waves of distorted bass and lap steel guitar. For fans of bands like Earth, Jex Thoth, SubRosa, all minus the vocals, this release will command your attention and take it for a warm and fuzzy trippy ride.

    The album kicks off with the interstellar antics of the crafty “Tectonic”, a piece that nicely builds as the bass guitar leads into crafty percussions and dreamy synths. The duo’s ability to slowly build tension and atmosphere is quite impressive as tracks like “Three Gates” slowly build from minimalist passages to fuzzy onslaughts that are both playful and yet pummeling. The experimental component of the band’s music allows them to create tracks that are highly hypnotic, like the trance inducing “Philae” and the slow burning “Danube”.

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    Kadavar - For the Dead Travel Fast (2019)

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    As one of the most intense and authentic (modern) Psychedelic Rock bands we have ever seen, Kadavar continues to propel themselves to the top with killer releases. “For the Dead Travel Fast” is yet another highlight in their storied career, filled with over 45 minutes of fantastic and engaging music. If you like riff-driven releases Rock releases, this album will satisfy your quota… for a few years. With this highly creative and moody release, the band reaches new heights.

    Starting off with the chilling-eerie intro “The End”, the band sets a very moody vibe that fully unravels with “The Devil's Master”. This last track perfectly combines fuzzy guitars, funky vocal arrangements and a very martial pace that slowly builds up. The Psychedelic brilliance of “Evil Forces” makes it one of the band’s most engaging and retro sounding tracks, thanks to a very natural and authentic old-school vibe. We are fans of more mysterious tracks, like the dramatic “Children of the Night” and it's very atmospheric vibe mixed with killer guitar leads and a pulsating bass guitar line.

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    Opeth - In Cauda Venenum (2019)

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    Fully embracing and developing their Progressive Metal/Rock sound, Opeth as embarked on a journey in their last few releases to discover and create an own cohesive sound. With “In Cauda Venenum”, the band seems to be nicely settled and delivers ten lush tracks that showcase their impressive progress in this genre. Released in both Swedish and English, this album is quite a treat to enjoy if you are a fan of the genre and bands like Leprous and Haken but with a funky Psychedelic punch to them.

    After setting a trippy mood with the opener “Garden of Earthly Delights”, the band starts their proggy journey with the funky “Dignity”. Featuring an intricate bass guitar line and psychedelic synths and eerie vocal arrangements, this track nicely showcases the band’s craftiness. Mikael Åkerfeldt’s clean vocals are a very nice complement to the music’s craftsmanship on tracks like “Heart In Hand” and “Next of Kin”. We particularly enjoy how the band shifts tempos and hooks the listener with subtle details between transitions.

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    Noekk - Waltzing in Obscurity (2019)

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    We just had to wait 11 year for a new full length release, from personal favorite band Noekk. On the bright side, I guess “Waltzing in Obscurity” did take one year less to be released than the time between Empyrium albums. Led by Markus Stock and Thomas Helm, this band is the proggier/psychedelic outlet from Empyrium, as you can hear some minimal influences in this and their previous release. However, this band is a very different outfit with a heavier and trippier edge to its music.

    Opening with the album title track, we have a folky opening that evolves into lush vocal arrangements and a retro vibe with its intricate synths. We particularly love that dramatic sound created by the powerful distorted guitars and the clean vocals around the 5 minute mark, which reminds us of Empyrium very quickly. That being the last comparison with their partner band, the album progresses with the psychedelic brilliance of “Perseus” and its superb instrumentation. The drum crash cymbals are just amazingly produced, and are perfectly contrasted with the funky retro synths, making for one hell of a song.

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    Jess By The Lake - Under The Red Light Shine (2019)

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    The enigmatic Jasmin Saarela, better known as Jess from Jess and the Ancient Ones, is finally back with her debut solo release “Under the Red Light Shine”. Focusing more on fundamental psychedelic/acid rock influences, this release features eight intoxicating tracks filled with sultry vocals and groovy vibes. If you are a fan of any of her previous projects, you certainly can’t miss out on this one.

    Opening with the album title track, we get a Danzing-esque tune with very warm and fuzzy guitars intertwined with playful drums and Jess’s vocals as the central focus. We are always impressed by the amount of feeling and conviction Jess’s vocals have, and this release is even more direct and engaging. The songs in this album nicely shift gears and provide a wide palette of influences like the funky “Freezing Burn”, the trippy “The Wait” and the eerie “Halo (Ghosts in the Flames)” a very loungey track that is quite enjoyable.

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    Molasses - Mourning Haze/Drops of Sunlight (2019)

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    Born as a commissioned ‘project’ from Roadburn Music festival, Molasses brings back Farida Lemouchi and her old The Devil’s Blood bandmates to craft a very unique body of music that serves as a way to move on from the death of Selim Lemouchi and TDB days. Not being a tribute to TDB, we were quite excited to hear if Molasses would even resemble their older material or just sound completely different, luckily for us there are certain hints of their old style with newer elements thrown into the mix.

    This two song single release through Ván Records is all we will get for now, especially the ones that missed out on Roadburn 2019. Opening with the amp fuzziness of “Mourning Haze”, we are quickly transported to the days of Psychedelic Rock and its trippiness. Featuring a very accommodating pace and beautifully adorned with playful guitar leads and groovy synths, this opening track is pure magic and a very powerful way to open this release.

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