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  • Valcata Unleash ‘Overload the Reactor’, an Explosive New Single

    First offering from forthcoming as-yet-untitled 3-song EP kicks off a new era for the symphonic prog-metal collective.

       

    Valcata, the symphonic progressive metal collective known for weaving cinematic orchestration with emotional depth, has officially released Overload the Reactor. This first single from their upcoming 3-song EP is now available digitally worldwide on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms.

    Rooted in themes of connection and determination, Overload the Reactor uses sci-fi-infused imagery to tell a fundamentally human story: two souls uniting to overcome darkness and embrace hope.

    “This song is about the power of support,” explains composer Oha Cade. “Our protagonists find connection through a shared purpose. When you find yourself struggling, often all it takes is one other soul to help you break through.”

     
     

    A Global Lineup

    • David Michael Moote (Operus) – clean and harsh vocals, honed in Toronto’s progressive metal scene.

    • Sharon Portilla (Blind Hex) – clean lead vocals; she co-founded the Mexican neo-symphonic band Blind Hex in 2021.

    • Landryx (ex-Unexpect) – versatile drummer from Quebec whose work on Unexpect’s acclaimed albums In a Flesh Aquarium and Fables of the Sleepless Empire fueled tours with elite acts including Dream Theater and Iron Maiden.

    • Amin & Armin Saffar (Hyper Planet) – the Iranian-born duo add guitar and bass depth, fusing Persian heritage with avant-garde prog-metal (now based in the Netherlands).

    • William Khan (Golden World Archive) – cinematic, neoclassical orchestration.

    • Emil Reitan (Frostbitt, Trylion, Tulpas) – mixing/mastering at Iceland’s renowned Icicle Studios.

    • Oha Cade – composer, lyricist, producer, and visionary force behind Valcata.

    This lineup will continue across all tracks of the forthcoming EP.

     

    New Overload the Reactor t-shirt added to the store

     

    a new chapter

    Since debuting in 2019 with their conceptual self-titled album, Valcata has earned praise for blending symphonic, progressive grandeur, and heartfelt storytelling. Overload the Reactor is the group’s latest emotional anthem to signal a powerful new era.

    Bandcamp: https://valcata.bandcamp.com/album/overload-the-reactor
    Facebook: http://facebook.com/valcataproject
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valcata_official
    Merch: https://valcata-merchandise.creator-spring.com/
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4v5p8lgoaI12d3E879sZ2d?si=26d244bc06ce40d3
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@valcatamusic
    Website: https://www.valcata.com/

     

  • GAUPA ~ FYR….. review


    This year (2025) sees Sweden’s GAUPA returning with not only a brand new release, “Fyr” (Nuclear Blast Records), but also a slimmed down line up. 2024 saw co-guitarist Daniel Nygren handing in his notice so as to concentrate more on his family which left remaining members, Jimmy Hurtig (drums); Erik Sävström (bass); Emma Näslund (vocals) and David Rosberg (guitars), with the options of either finding a new guitarist to fill Nygren’s boots or carrying on as a four piece, it was decided that of the two options it was the latter that served GAUPA’s purposes best. 
    We at Desert Psychlist are of the opinion that it is this more compact line up, where each musician has to work just that little bit harder to achieve that signature GAUPA sound,  which has resulted in “Fyr” being the bands darkest, tightest and heaviest release to date, see what you think… 


    Opening number “Lion’s Thorn“, begins haunting and mystical with what sounds very much like a set of solitary bagpipes (but could just as easily be a saxophone) parping majestic tones over a backdrop of droning textures, this then slowly fades away to be replaced by a throbbing low key but highly effective groove over which  Näslund pours a fragile vocal containing all the usual distinctive vocal mannerisms fans of GAUPA  have come to expect from her. Now you may be asking when does all this darkness and heaviness, talked about in the opening part of this review, kick in, well it is first hinted at around the songs 4:40 mark but really takes hold when the song clocks in at just over the five minute mark when guitarist Rosberg decides he’s had enough of laying down quaint textures and instead goes full on crunchy, the guitarist dragging Sävström and Hurtig along with him on a powerfully executed groove that teeters on the edges of doomic and sees Näslund’s vocals taking on a more forceful dynamic. Second song “Heavy Lord” mixes chugging stoner(ish) grittiness with prog and post-punk texturing beneath a delightfully delivered Näslund vocal that shows along with having ethereal and powerful in her locker she also has husky and smoky. “Ten Of Twelve” follows and sees GAUPA musically swaying between complex passages of strident progressive metal and bouncy psychedelic rock over which  Näslund delivers another superb vocal, the real clincher here though is Rosberg’s ear-worming guitar motif’s which are reminiscent of something you might find gracing a YES album or something by Chicago’s Huntsmen. “Elastic Sleep” is an epic shape-shifting opus, a truly captivating blend of blustering progressive metal heaviness and heavy psych otherworldliness fronted by a truly incredible vocal performance. this song that really needs to be listened to without distraction to fully appreciate the true majesty and magnificence of its individual performances.
    #Those opting for a physical release of “Fyr” also get  the bonus of hearing GAUPA perform “Sömnen & Febersvan” live at Monkey Moon Studios, both songs featuring the now departed Daniel Nygren.


    There were probably many that were hoping GAUPA’s next release would be an all bells and whistles full length album but “Fyr“, which the band describe as a “mini” album, is more a statement of intent, an announcement to the world that despite losing a core member they are still a musical force to be reckoned with, Of course losing a member is going to alter any bands dynamic to some extent and in GAUPA’s case that has resulted in a slightly darker and heavier sound but its more a subtle shift than a drastic one and all those elements that we have come to love about this unique Swedish outfit are all still very much in place, the genre blending grooves, the surrealistic lyricism, the distinctive vocalisations all remain but this time sprinkled with just a pinch more grittiness.
    Check it out ….   

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • GAUPA ~ FYR….. review


    This year (2025) sees Sweden’s GAUPA returning with not only a brand new release, “Fyr” (Nuclear Blast Records), but also a slimmed down line up. 2024 saw co-guitarist Daniel Nygren handing in his notice so as to concentrate more on his family which left remaining members, Jimmy Hurtig (drums); Erik Sävström (bass); Emma Näslund (vocals) and David Rosberg (guitars), with the options of either finding a new guitarist to fill Nygren’s boots or carrying on as a four piece, it was decided that of the two options it was the latter that served GAUPA’s purposes best. 
    We at Desert Psychlist are of the opinion that it is this more compact line up, where each musician has to work just that little bit harder to achieve that signature GAUPA sound,  which has resulted in “Fyr” being the bands darkest, tightest and heaviest release to date, see what you think… 


    Opening number “Lion’s Thorn“, begins haunting and mystical with what sounds very much like a set of solitary bagpipes (but could just as easily be a saxophone) parping majestic tones over a backdrop of droning textures, this then slowly fades away to be replaced by a throbbing low key but highly effective groove over which  Näslund pours a fragile vocal containing all the usual distinctive vocal mannerisms fans of GAUPA  have come to expect from her. Now you may be asking when does all this darkness and heaviness, talked about in the opening part of this review, kick in, well it is first hinted at around the songs 4:40 mark but really takes hold when the song clocks in at just over the five minute mark when guitarist Rosberg decides he’s had enough of laying down quaint textures and instead goes full on crunchy, the guitarist dragging Sävström and Hurtig along with him on a powerfully executed groove that teeters on the edges of doomic and sees Näslund’s vocals taking on a more forceful dynamic. Second song “Heavy Lord” mixes chugging stoner(ish) grittiness with prog and post-punk texturing beneath a delightfully delivered Näslund vocal that shows along with having ethereal and powerful in her locker she also has husky and smoky. “Ten Of Twelve” follows and sees GAUPA musically swaying between complex passages of strident progressive metal and bouncy psychedelic rock over which  Näslund delivers another superb vocal, the real clincher here though is Rosberg’s ear-worming guitar motif’s which are reminiscent of something you might find gracing a YES album or something by Chicago’s Huntsmen. “Elastic Sleep” is an epic shape-shifting opus, a truly captivating blend of blustering progressive metal heaviness and heavy psych otherworldliness fronted by a truly incredible vocal performance. this song that really needs to be listened to without distraction to fully appreciate the true majesty and magnificence of its individual performances.
    #Those opting for a physical release of “Fyr” also get  the bonus of hearing GAUPA perform “Sömnen & Febersvan” live at Monkey Moon Studios, both songs featuring the now departed Daniel Nygren.


    There were probably many that were hoping GAUPA’s next release would be an all bells and whistles full length album but “Fyr“, which the band describe as a “mini” album, is more a statement of intent, an announcement to the world that despite losing a core member they are still a musical force to be reckoned with, Of course losing a member is going to alter any bands dynamic to some extent and in GAUPA’s case that has resulted in a slightly darker and heavier sound but its more a subtle shift than a drastic one and all those elements that we have come to love about this unique Swedish outfit are all still very much in place, the genre blending grooves, the surrealistic lyricism, the distinctive vocalisations all remain but this time sprinkled with just a pinch more grittiness.
    Check it out ….   

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • WITCHSNAKE ~ SATANAS …. review

     

    It’s here again, you know what we are talking about, that time when you have to warn your neighbours that you are going to be playing a new album released by one of those bands from the Italian acid-doom/scuzz scene, another one of those many Italian bands that have traded in their Sabbathian robes for a seat at the altar of Electric Wizard. The band in question this time is Milan’s Witchsnake a duo consisting of Al (guitars, bass and vocals) and Joe (drums), a duo who have already caused our neighbours collective ears to bleed with their previous releases “Witchsnake” and “Deathcult of the Snake“. The band have just released their third album “Satanas” an album consisting of eight tracks the band have dubbed as “unholy hymns carved in smoke and sulfur” further backing this statement up by describing the album as “not a journey, but a collapse, a slow, suffocating crawl through burning swamps, shattered altars, and psilocybin-drenched visions of damnation“. Sounds good to us!

    Opening track “Hell Breaks Loose” is what Motorhead might have sounded like if they had chosen hallucinogens over amphetamines, it’s breathy smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much Jack Daniels Lemmy-esque vocals are surrounded by rolling filth drenched refrains and powerhouse drumming offset with occasional bursts of Hendrixian flavoured soloing, it’s a killer start but things get even better as the album progresses. Next we have “Dethroned“, the songs low slung gritty riffage, interspersed with piercing distortion drenched guitar motifs and dissonant solos, is underpinned with solid thunderous drumming over which its vocals are intoned rather than sang, the songs boasts a groove that sits squarely in low’n’slow stoner doom territory but it is a pungent form of stoner doom that reeks of disease and decay. “Witchburner” follows and jams a more stoner rock-like dynamic and also features a vocal that bears a semblance of melody but don’t start thinking that this song is any less pungent than its predecessor just because there is an element of flow in its vocals as the filthiness here is just as tangible. “Black Blood Bayou” is a demented travelogue that finds our hosts describing a place where you can witness “larvae crawling into the cracked skull” and where you can feel “the heat of death” against a backdrop of putrid thrumming proto-doom. “Ashes To Ashes, Fuck To Fuck” is a rhythmically hard driven instrumental packed to the rafters with some of the dirtiest guitar work you will witness this side of  the rapture and is followed by title track “Satanas” a song that is akin to listening to Lemmy telling a bedtime story while an avalanche of giant boulders tumbles down a mountainside. Penultimate number “Demona” does seem somewhat more structured than much of what has gone before, what with its rolling refrains, punchy drumming and swirling solo’s, but it’s really hard to tell if something is structured while your ears are bleeding. Final track “Acid Hell” is a perfectly titled opus that comes out of the gate swinging and does not stop until your brain is just a jellied mush, filthy guitar solos accompanied by barely audible vocal rumblings and forceful percussion coming at you in face-melting wave upon wave of voluptuous volume.


    Witchsnake have surpassed themselves with “Satanas“, those who thought this Italian duo could not possibly get any more filthier, acidic or pungent and putrid than they had done on their previous output are in for a rude awakening when this release assails their auditory canals. Play “Satanas” to your like -minded pals and you will have friends for life, play it to your neighbours and they will move home. 
    Check it out …. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • WITCHSNAKE ~ SATANAS …. review

     

    It’s here again, you know what we are talking about, that time when you have to warn your neighbours that you are going to be playing a new album released by one of those bands from the Italian acid-doom/scuzz scene, another one of those many Italian bands that have traded in their Sabbathian robes for a seat at the altar of Electric Wizard. The band in question this time is Milan’s Witchsnake a duo consisting of Al (guitars, bass and vocals) and Joe (drums), a duo who have already caused our neighbours collective ears to bleed with their previous releases “Witchsnake” and “Deathcult of the Snake“. The band have just released their third album “Satanas” an album consisting of eight tracks the band have dubbed as “unholy hymns carved in smoke and sulfur” further backing this statement up by describing the album as “not a journey, but a collapse, a slow, suffocating crawl through burning swamps, shattered altars, and psilocybin-drenched visions of damnation“. Sounds good to us!

    Opening track “Hell Breaks Loose” is what Motorhead might have sounded like if they had chosen hallucinogens over amphetamines, it’s breathy smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much Jack Daniels Lemmy-esque vocals are surrounded by rolling filth drenched refrains and powerhouse drumming offset with occasional bursts of Hendrixian flavoured soloing, it’s a killer start but things get even better as the album progresses. Next we have “Dethroned“, the songs low slung gritty riffage, interspersed with piercing distortion drenched guitar motifs and dissonant solos, is underpinned with solid thunderous drumming over which its vocals are intoned rather than sang, the songs boasts a groove that sits squarely in low’n’slow stoner doom territory but it is a pungent form of stoner doom that reeks of disease and decay. “Witchburner” follows and jams a more stoner rock-like dynamic and also features a vocal that bears a semblance of melody but don’t start thinking that this song is any less pungent than its predecessor just because there is an element of flow in its vocals as the filthiness here is just as tangible. “Black Blood Bayou” is a demented travelogue that finds our hosts describing a place where you can witness “larvae crawling into the cracked skull” and where you can feel “the heat of death” against a backdrop of putrid thrumming proto-doom. “Ashes To Ashes, Fuck To Fuck” is a rhythmically hard driven instrumental packed to the rafters with some of the dirtiest guitar work you will witness this side of  the rapture and is followed by title track “Satanas” a song that is akin to listening to Lemmy telling a bedtime story while an avalanche of giant boulders tumbles down a mountainside. Penultimate number “Demona” does seem somewhat more structured than much of what has gone before, what with its rolling refrains, punchy drumming and swirling solo’s, but it’s really hard to tell if something is structured while your ears are bleeding. Final track “Acid Hell” is a perfectly titled opus that comes out of the gate swinging and does not stop until your brain is just a jellied mush, filthy guitar solos accompanied by barely audible vocal rumblings and forceful percussion coming at you in face-melting wave upon wave of voluptuous volume.


    Witchsnake have surpassed themselves with “Satanas“, those who thought this Italian duo could not possibly get any more filthier, acidic or pungent and putrid than they had done on their previous output are in for a rude awakening when this release assails their auditory canals. Play “Satanas” to your like -minded pals and you will have friends for life, play it to your neighbours and they will move home. 
    Check it out …. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • BIRDDOG ~ BIRDDOG …. review

     

    Funny how hearing hearing a voice can sometimes place an image in the minds eye that stays there even after seeing pictures or even meeting the owner of that voice and this is the case with Diamond Neal, singer with Canadian outfit BirdDog. In Desert Psychlist’s collective mind Neal’s voice conjures up visions of a bearded white haired dude wearing a weather beaten baseball cap, dishevelled clothes and cowboy boots, the sort of man you could imagine running a remote gas station or being one of those cantankerous cooks you often see in old westerns. Of course Neal is nothing like the picture we have painted in our heads, in fact he is the polar opposite, but it is his raw lived in ones that has placed those aforementioned images in our heads, a voice that is a little bit Earthride era Dave Sherman and a lot Left Lane Cruiser’s Joe Evans IV. Neal is joined in BirdDog by Ray Dickman (guitar) and Eric Dickman (bass), who some may remember from the band Electric Ruin, and drummer Andrew Barr and together they create a noise that is a blend of hoary stoner/hard rock, southern tinted blues boogie and thrumming proto metal, a sound you can check out for yourselves by taking their newly released self- titled studio debut “BirdDog” for a spin.

    “Out Of The City” kicks things off with choppy slightly distorted guitar textures supported by low booming bass lines and solid unfussy drumming over which Neal warbles throatily on the trials and tribulations of urban living in a voice that sounds like its owner has indulged in too much of just about everything, The song features a scorching guitar solo from R, Dickman followed by another burst of  vocal throatiness from Neal but then just stops dead, no fade out or lingering notes just an abrupt and unexpected full stop. We mentioned Left Lane Cruiser in the opening part of this review and if you stripped back next number “Medicine” to just voice, guitar and drums then what you would be left with would easily fit on one of that bands early albums, E. Dickman introduces next song “Lone Survivor” with a deliciously gnarly bass refrain which is then joined by some thunderous drum work from Barr around which R. Dickman layers siren like effects before adding his weight to the main riff. The songs groove settles down into something approaching proto-doomic when Neal’s distinctive vocals join the fray but its is a doom drenched in gut rot whiskey and hand rolled cigarettes, or it at least feels that way! “Feel Like A Bug” finds BirdDog staying in doomic territories but with an element of stoner/hard rock grittiness thrown in while “Nervosis” takes that stoner/hard rock grittiness and mixes it with some down home bluesy boogie over which Neal waxes lyrical about “smoking lots of cigarettes” while wishing he were “a better man“. Final song “Know Who You Are” is a rip roaring strident rocker with an ear catching, if somewhat abrasive, vocal melody, that brings to a close a thoroughly enjoyable release that pretends to be nothing other than just what it is. 


    Ok BirdDog are not trying to re-invent any wheels with their debut but not every release has to be about pushing boundaries or breaking through glass ceilings, we tend to dissect and examine music far too much these days and we forget that music is supposed to be an enjoyable pastime. Of course there is a place for albums and EP’s that impart messages, that challenge and extend musical frontiers but BirdDog’s studio debut is not one of them, this is a release that’s more about the groove than the gravitas and there is ALWAYS a place for that!
    Check it out ….. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • BIRDDOG ~ BIRDDOG …. review

     

    Funny how hearing hearing a voice can sometimes place an image in the minds eye that stays there even after seeing pictures or even meeting the owner of that voice and this is the case with Diamond Neal, singer with Canadian outfit BirdDog. In Desert Psychlist’s collective mind Neal’s voice conjures up visions of a bearded white haired dude wearing a weather beaten baseball cap, dishevelled clothes and cowboy boots, the sort of man you could imagine running a remote gas station or being one of those cantankerous cooks you often see in old westerns. Of course Neal is nothing like the picture we have painted in our heads, in fact he is the polar opposite, but it is his raw lived in ones that has placed those aforementioned images in our heads, a voice that is a little bit Earthride era Dave Sherman and a lot Left Lane Cruiser’s Joe Evans IV. Neal is joined in BirdDog by Ray Dickman (guitar) and Eric Dickman (bass), who some may remember from the band Electric Ruin, and drummer Andrew Barr and together they create a noise that is a blend of hoary stoner/hard rock, southern tinted blues boogie and thrumming proto metal, a sound you can check out for yourselves by taking their newly released self- titled studio debut “BirdDog” for a spin.

    “Out Of The City” kicks things off with choppy slightly distorted guitar textures supported by low booming bass lines and solid unfussy drumming over which Neal warbles throatily on the trials and tribulations of urban living in a voice that sounds like its owner has indulged in too much of just about everything, The song features a scorching guitar solo from R, Dickman followed by another burst of  vocal throatiness from Neal but then just stops dead, no fade out or lingering notes just an abrupt and unexpected full stop. We mentioned Left Lane Cruiser in the opening part of this review and if you stripped back next number “Medicine” to just voice, guitar and drums then what you would be left with would easily fit on one of that bands early albums, E. Dickman introduces next song “Lone Survivor” with a deliciously gnarly bass refrain which is then joined by some thunderous drum work from Barr around which R. Dickman layers siren like effects before adding his weight to the main riff. The songs groove settles down into something approaching proto-doomic when Neal’s distinctive vocals join the fray but its is a doom drenched in gut rot whiskey and hand rolled cigarettes, or it at least feels that way! “Feel Like A Bug” finds BirdDog staying in doomic territories but with an element of stoner/hard rock grittiness thrown in while “Nervosis” takes that stoner/hard rock grittiness and mixes it with some down home bluesy boogie over which Neal waxes lyrical about “smoking lots of cigarettes” while wishing he were “a better man“. Final song “Know Who You Are” is a rip roaring strident rocker with an ear catching, if somewhat abrasive, vocal melody, that brings to a close a thoroughly enjoyable release that pretends to be nothing other than just what it is. 


    Ok BirdDog are not trying to re-invent any wheels with their debut but not every release has to be about pushing boundaries or breaking through glass ceilings, we tend to dissect and examine music far too much these days and we forget that music is supposed to be an enjoyable pastime. Of course there is a place for albums and EP’s that impart messages, that challenge and extend musical frontiers but BirdDog’s studio debut is not one of them, this is a release that’s more about the groove than the gravitas and there is ALWAYS a place for that!
    Check it out ….. 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • LAZER ~ LIVE AT BEARDY MOUNTAIN … review

     

    Austria’s Lazer, Tanja “Aunty” Peinsipp (vocals); Lukas Schmidt (lead guitar); Lukas Klingseisen (rhythm guitar); Moritz Holy ( bass/backing vocals) and Dale St. Jules (drums), jam grooves that sit mostly at the lithe and languid end of the psychedelic rock spectrum but that have a tendency to shift from time to time into heavier and gnarlier territories, the band one minute gently massaging their listeners ears with lilting guitar arpeggios, shimmering percussion and funky bass passages and the next tearing those same ears to shreds with crushing refrains, thunderous drumming and growling low end. What is even more impressive is that those see-sawing dynamics are also mirrored in the bands vocals which can sway between honeyed jazzy bluesiness and demonic sludgy harshness. The band have just released “Live At Beardy Mountain” a live in the studio recording that serves as the perfect listening material for those who like psychedelic rock that occasionally bares its teeth.

    Opening number “Underwater” begins with liquid-like eastern guitar motifs accompanied by a low key vocal, slowly those guitars and vocals are joined by the bass and drums in a groove that wends and winds between loose and lysergic and tight and blustering with the vocalist accommodating those shifts with tones that are bluesy and soulful in the songs more languid passages and throat shredding in the songs more intense and heavier sections. Next song “Can’t Run Away” sways between being seductive and moody and full on and feisty, vocalist Peinsipp once again switching her vocals between lush and lethal over a musical backdrop that follows a similar fey and fractious blueprint. Third track “Can’t Speak” is at its root bluesy and lysergic but because of its occasional descents into more doomic waters, and of course the vocalists penchant for sliding into harsher vocal territories, the song feels a whole lot heavier than it actually is. Final song “Go On” starts off quite quaint and dare we say “pretty” but as we have already found out “pretty” is not Lazer’s default setting and it’s not long before Peinsipp starts mixing up her ethereal tones with elements of hardcore harshness, Schmidt and Klingseisen start injecting some crunch and squeal into their guitar tones, St  Jules’ drums begin to get a little more thunderous and Holy’s bass lines take on an air of growliness, its powerful stuff, a unique mix of melody and gnarliness we at Desert Psychlist are not sure many bands other than Lazer could pull off!


    Swooning vocals swaying over sharded chord progressions and single notes that hang in the air for an age backed up by swinging jazz-like bass and drum grooves are only part of what you get to experience with Lazer’s “Live At Beardy Mountain” what else you get is thick reverberating refrains, basement level low end and thunderous rhythms topped off with larynx ruining vocal harshness, it’s sometimes like listening to two different bands at once but somehow it works! 
    Check it out ….

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • LAZER ~ LIVE AT BEARDY MOUNTAIN … review

     

    Austria’s Lazer, Tanja “Aunty” Peinsipp (vocals); Lukas Schmidt (lead guitar); Lukas Klingseisen (rhythm guitar); Moritz Holy ( bass/backing vocals) and Dale St. Jules (drums), jam grooves that sit mostly at the lithe and languid end of the psychedelic rock spectrum but that have a tendency to shift from time to time into heavier and gnarlier territories, the band one minute gently massaging their listeners ears with lilting guitar arpeggios, shimmering percussion and funky bass passages and the next tearing those same ears to shreds with crushing refrains, thunderous drumming and growling low end. What is even more impressive is that those see-sawing dynamics are also mirrored in the bands vocals which can sway between honeyed jazzy bluesiness and demonic sludgy harshness. The band have just released “Live At Beardy Mountain” a live in the studio recording that serves as the perfect listening material for those who like psychedelic rock that occasionally bares its teeth.

    Opening number “Underwater” begins with liquid-like eastern guitar motifs accompanied by a low key vocal, slowly those guitars and vocals are joined by the bass and drums in a groove that wends and winds between loose and lysergic and tight and blustering with the vocalist accommodating those shifts with tones that are bluesy and soulful in the songs more languid passages and throat shredding in the songs more intense and heavier sections. Next song “Can’t Run Away” sways between being seductive and moody and full on and feisty, vocalist Peinsipp once again switching her vocals between lush and lethal over a musical backdrop that follows a similar fey and fractious blueprint. Third track “Can’t Speak” is at its root bluesy and lysergic but because of its occasional descents into more doomic waters, and of course the vocalists penchant for sliding into harsher vocal territories, the song feels a whole lot heavier than it actually is. Final song “Go On” starts off quite quaint and dare we say “pretty” but as we have already found out “pretty” is not Lazer’s default setting and it’s not long before Peinsipp starts mixing up her ethereal tones with elements of hardcore harshness, Schmidt and Klingseisen start injecting some crunch and squeal into their guitar tones, St  Jules’ drums begin to get a little more thunderous and Holy’s bass lines take on an air of growliness, its powerful stuff, a unique mix of melody and gnarliness we at Desert Psychlist are not sure many bands other than Lazer could pull off!


    Swooning vocals swaying over sharded chord progressions and single notes that hang in the air for an age backed up by swinging jazz-like bass and drum grooves are only part of what you get to experience with Lazer’s “Live At Beardy Mountain” what else you get is thick reverberating refrains, basement level low end and thunderous rhythms topped off with larynx ruining vocal harshness, it’s sometimes like listening to two different bands at once but somehow it works! 
    Check it out ….

    © 2025 Frazer Jones

  • HIBERNAUT ~ OBSIDIAN EYE …. review

    Salt Lake City heavy groovesters Hibernaut, Dave Jones (guitar/vocals); Zach Hatsis (drums); Josh Dupree (bass) and Matt Miller (guitar), blew a fair few minds with their debut release “Ingress“, ours included, musically the album sat somewhere between “DopeSmoker” era Sleep and “Children of the Haze” period Dopelord, a mix of sludge and stoner metal that also boasted prog-like elements and psychedelic essences, lyrically though “Ingress” album was in a class all of its own with otherworldly tales laid out like ancient poetry. “Ingress” was roundly praised on its release and grabbed Hibernaut a well deserved #15 place on the Doom Charts and it will come as no surprise to Desert Psychlist if the bands latest album “Obsidian Eye” (Olde Magick Records/ Kozmik Artifactz) matches that achievement or even betters it as “Obsidian Eye” is everything “Ingress” was but so much more..

    The album begins with “Engorge Behemoth” a song that opens it account with dissonant dual guitars trading off against each other (especially effective through headphones) then shifts into a just shy of doomic paced stoner metallic groove underpinned with low gravelled bass and thunderously busy drumming. Vocals here are delivered gruff and bear like yet despite this retain much of their clarity, which is applaudable given how much thought that has gone into the lyrics. Next song “Venatic Rite” kicks off in a similar style to its predecessor only a touch more drone-like and murky but then a piercing guitar motif cuts through the murkiness and the band explode into hard-driven sludge meets thrash like groove around a full on and forceful vocal, on a sidenote you could almost be fooled into thinking the drums are the leading instrument here such is the force of their impact. Those drums are just as impactful on the following “Pestiferous” however they do not have it all their own way here as they have to contend with constantly swirling guitar solos, a powerfully performed vocal and a rolling bass line weightier than a ships anchor. Title track “Obsidian Eyes” rears its gnarly head next and like the songs before it this starts dissonant and drone-ish but then slams into a thunderously dark groove over which a powerful vocal tells of “sylphlike silhouettes” who stand “in shadow” and “sexless tattooed priests” with “nefarious intellect” in tones dripping with throaty contempt. By now you are probably hoping for a break from all the full on intensity and relentless furiosity but Hibernaut are not in agreement and instead plough on regardless with “Revenants” another sludgy stoner metal barn burning opus that gives no quarter, this one telling of “soupy skies” where “leviathans slither and twist“. Final number “Beset” does not bring any respite from all the heaviness but it does slow down that heaviness to something approaching traditionally doomic, the guitar work here is blistering, the bass lines boneshaking, the drumming pounding and the vocals strong and gruffly sinister.


    Powerful heavy music framing powerful lyrical imagery is what Hibernaut serve up with their second album “Obsidian Eye“, a conceptual album exploring themes that include infection, resurrection and manipulation. A musical force of nature from its first note to its last “Obsidian Eye” delivers musically, vocally and lyrically and could well be one of the best albums of its style released this year (2025).
    Check it out … 

    © 2025 Frazer Jones