Category: news

Perusing Desert Psychlist’s unending wave of emails can be in turns informative, infuriating and gladdening and it was the last of those emotions we felt when we scrolled down to find that Russian groovsters Scumback had gifted us a download of their latest album “Perfect Blue” via Bandcamp. Some may remember us waxing lyrical on these pages over the bands second album “Sons of a Witch“, a collection of short sharp and caustic tunes that took their cues from the likes of Eyehategod, Buzzov-en, and Crowbar as much as they did from southern rock royalty like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet. Those who have already bought into Scumback’s blend of of hardcore, groove and southern rock /metal will be cock-a-hoop to discover that while “Perfect Blue” sees Scumback progressing musically as a band it also does not stray too far from the bands original blueprint while those new to the band will discover an outfit with the ability to both swing and brutalize in equal measure.

Perusing Desert Psychlist’s unending wave of emails can be in turns informative, infuriating and gladdening and it was the last of those emotions we felt when we scrolled down to find that Russian groovsters Scumback had gifted us a download of their latest album “Perfect Blue” via Bandcamp. Some may remember us waxing lyrical on these pages over the bands second album “Sons of a Witch“, a collection of short sharp and caustic tunes that took their cues from the likes of Eyehategod, Buzzov-en, and Crowbar as much as they did from southern rock royalty like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet. Those who have already bought into Scumback’s blend of of hardcore, groove and southern rock /metal will be cock-a-hoop to discover that while “Perfect Blue” sees Scumback progressing musically as a band it also does not stray too far from the bands original blueprint while those new to the band will discover an outfit with the ability to both swing and brutalize in equal measure.

Read any review of an album or EP by Austria’s Witchrider and you can almost guarantee that somewhere in that review a reference to Queens of the Stone Age will crop up and no doubt we at Desert Psychlist will be doing the same during the course of our review of the band s latest EP “Metamorph“. The reason for that is not because Witchrider have specifically set out to capture a similar musical vibe to Josh Homme’s band of ragamuffins it is just that the two bands mine similar musical fields. Like QOTSA Witchrider are not afraid to step outside of the riff over a riff over another riff blueprint followed by so many bands in this scene and are willing to experiment with elements that are a little more accessible and dare we say it radio friendly while still being able to remain true to their fuzz rock roots. This approach has remained consistent throughout the bands existence, from their self titled debut EP  “Witchrider” through 2014’s “Unmountable Stairs” to 2020’s “Electric Storm” Witchrider have never having fallen into the trap of trying to get by on the strength of just a good guitar refrain, these guys put as much thought into their melodies, their lyrics and their dynamics as they do the tones of their fuzz pedals and on their latest EP, “Metamorph” (Fuzzorama Records) they manage take that approach to a whole other level. 

Read any review of an album or EP by Austria’s Witchrider and you can almost guarantee that somewhere in that review a reference to Queens of the Stone Age will crop up and no doubt we at Desert Psychlist will be doing the same during the course of our review of the band s latest EP “Metamorph“. The reason for that is not because Witchrider have specifically set out to capture a similar musical vibe to Josh Homme’s band of ragamuffins it is just that the two bands mine similar musical fields. Like QOTSA Witchrider are not afraid to step outside of the riff over a riff over another riff blueprint followed by so many bands in this scene and are willing to experiment with elements that are a little more accessible and dare we say it radio friendly while still being able to remain true to their fuzz rock roots. This approach has remained consistent throughout the bands existence, from their self titled debut EP  “Witchrider” through 2014’s “Unmountable Stairs” to 2020’s “Electric Storm” Witchrider have never having fallen into the trap of trying to get by on the strength of just a good guitar refrain, these guys put as much thought into their melodies, their lyrics and their dynamics as they do the tones of their fuzz pedals and on their latest EP, “Metamorph” (Fuzzorama Records) they manage take that approach to a whole other level. 

Psythøn, Jacob Sennese, David Johnson and Andy Georgiev, hail from Chicago, Illinois and have just released their debut album “Baptized in Bong Water“, a must have release for those who like their grooves both heavy and acidic.

First out of the bag comes “Scorched Earth“, the song starts in a wave of dissonant guitar noise then is joined by the drums and bass in a groove that is constantly switching back and forth between thrash-like stridency and doomic lethargy beneath a vocal that chronicles man’s/earth’s demise in harsh maniacal tones. “Quetzal Hostilis” follows and finds the band alternating between a low’n’slow stoner doom groove and one of a more mid tempo proto doomic meter around vocals that are a mixture of clean harsh and guttural, what really catches the ear though is the searing guitar solos which cut through the murky miasma of different dooms like a hot knife through butter. Third number “Crack (H)orse” is quite the departure from what has gone before, there is a funk element to be found here and it’s the fucked up twisted sort of funkiness that 70’s funksters Parliament/Funkadelic would sometimes toy with in their live shows, the vocals here are a relatively clean mixture of lead singing and shared harmonies but speckled with moments of punkish aggression. “Glass Highway/Baptized in Bong Water/Breath Of Life“, would seem, on the face of it, to be three different songs seamlessly stitched together, the first song a funky heavy psych and acid doom workout, the second a sludgy metallic driving song and the third a trippy tiptoe through the tulips, albeit tulips that are withered and dying. Final song, “Barbarian” changes direction so many times it is hard to keep track, one minute its funky and bluesy, next minute its crushing and sludgy and the next its walking a fine line between languid and chaotic, at all times though it is totally mesmerising.

Psythøn, Jacob Sennese, David Johnson and Andy Georgiev, hail from Chicago, Illinois and have just released their debut album “Baptized in Bong Water“, a must have release for those who like their grooves both heavy and acidic.

First out of the bag comes “Scorched Earth“, the song starts in a wave of dissonant guitar noise then is joined by the drums and bass in a groove that is constantly switching back and forth between thrash-like stridency and doomic lethargy beneath a vocal that chronicles man’s/earth’s demise in harsh maniacal tones. “Quetzal Hostilis” follows and finds the band alternating between a low’n’slow stoner doom groove and one of a more mid tempo proto doomic meter around vocals that are a mixture of clean harsh and guttural, what really catches the ear though is the searing guitar solos which cut through the murky miasma of different dooms like a hot knife through butter. Third number “Crack (H)orse” is quite the departure from what has gone before, there is a funk element to be found here and it’s the fucked up twisted sort of funkiness that 70’s funksters Parliament/Funkadelic would sometimes toy with in their live shows, the vocals here are a relatively clean mixture of lead singing and shared harmonies but speckled with moments of punkish aggression. “Glass Highway/Baptized in Bong Water/Breath Of Life“, would seem, on the face of it, to be three different songs seamlessly stitched together, the first song a funky heavy psych and acid doom workout, the second a sludgy metallic driving song and the third a trippy tiptoe through the tulips, albeit tulips that are withered and dying. Final song, “Barbarian” changes direction so many times it is hard to keep track, one minute its funky and bluesy, next minute its crushing and sludgy and the next its walking a fine line between languid and chaotic, at all times though it is totally mesmerising.