Ash and Dust Prophecy Productions Psychedelic Doom
Every now and then, a band appears that manages to do something just that little bit differently and that was the case when Year of the Cobra (YOTC) delivered their debut album ‘…in the Shadows Below’ back in 2016. Since then the Seattle two piece have endlessly worked, playing shows and promoting before settling down to work on and finally deliver their sophomore album ‘Ash and Dust’.
There was a thought when listening to ‘Ash and Dust of whether the band can recapture the magic and almost unique tone that was delivered on their debut album; the answer is of course they can. YOTC push the boundaries of what this two-piece is capable of doing and in doing so, ‘Ash and Dust’ is actually, pretty damned good. The sparse drumming from Johanes Barrysmith is perfectly juxtaposed by the fluid bass playing of Amy Tung Barrysmith and without a guitar, it allows the bass to take the forefront of the music which is neither ever dull or boring. Obviously here, the psychedelic doom has all the love for Geezer Butler and that evidently comes through in Amy Tung Barrysmith’s playing; but there is something else hidden in there, 70’s rock style vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Heart and more recently Lucifer, whilst the music also has a touch of very early Soundgarden and Melvins which all give enough of that sludgey undercurrent to keep the flag flying high for the Seattle sound that can be seen during the slow-burning opener ‘The Battle of White Mountain’, ‘Demons’ and the sombre closer ‘In Despair’.
YOTC have delivered an album that is once again nothing short of excellent. For those who love their music with a psychedelic fluid bass thud and melodic vocals should definitely check out ‘Ash and Dust’, there will be no disappointment.
82/100 Adam McCann
Your Highness
‘Your Highness’ Hoogheid Records Sludge/Stoner Metal
Big on noise and big on riffs, Belgium’s Your Highness have long since cut their teeth on the sludge and stoner circuit and although it was been almost four years since the band released ‘City In Ruins’, Your Highness are back with their latest eponymous offering.
There is no denying it, ‘Your Highness’ is a record of monolithic proportions as the band continue their trend of sludgey-guitars that bubble to the surface delivering thick boils of feedback, crawling basslines and thunderous drums all delivered with the volume turned up to 11. Tracks such as ‘Black Fever’, ‘To Wood and Stone’ and the epic finale ‘Kin’s Blood’ - a song so heavy it dredges up the mud from the Mississippi riverbed leaving it impossible to not see the love that Your Highness have for Corrosion of Conformity, Torche and Crowbar. Through this adoration, ‘Your Highness’ mixes an herbal blend of doom-laden riffs packed full of Southern charm with a twist of heavy melodic blues and it is this twist from the very swamp itself which makes ‘Your Highness’ very appealing, setting it apart from the generic quagmire of sludge.
This is an album where Your Highness stick to their guns, battening down the hatches and deliver another impressive slice of fuzz-driven sludge. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.
60/100 Adam McCann
Yes
‘Relayer’ Elektra Records/Atlantic Records 1974 Progressive Rock
Although the initial reception to the bands previous album ‘Tales From the Topographic Oceans’ from 1973 had been warm, musically the band had reached saturation point with ‘Tales…’ being overblown, bloated and aimed almost entirely at a niche market. Due to this, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman resigned from Yes, replacing him with Refugee keyboardist Patrick Moraz and the band locked themselves away to begin work on their follow up, ‘Relayer’ released in 1974.
For ‘Relayer’, Yes decided to scale back to the classic progressive rock standard, a side of vinyl filled with one song, whilst side two contained smaller tracks and for this album, it meant side one contained the intricate and complex ‘The Gates of Delirium’. Loosely based on ‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy, ‘The Gates of Delirium’ features multiple sections of battle, a triumph and the peace that falls after a battle with the opening track debatably becoming Yes’ last great epic track.
Unlike Wakeman, Moraz was a completely different player, an accomplished composer in both classical and jazz, the Swiss keyboardist brought a completely different sound to Yes that would take the band beyond their comfort zone in progressive rock and into the realms of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever style jazz fusion. This can be seen clearly during ‘Sound Chaser’ in which the jazz fusion of Moraz juxtaposes perfectly with the light flamenco of Steve Howe’s guitar.
As intricate and grandiose as ‘Relayer’ is, it is a difficult album to ‘get’, ‘The Gates of Delirium’ is impressive and Jon Anderson’s fay vocals dart and dance around the mix beautifully. However, side two is rather dull, meandering slowly as it tries to shake off its bloated overblown progressive rock weight. There are better Yes albums, but ‘Relayer’ shows the band adapting to life with a new keyboardist, tackling a new album with the criticisms of their previous album still fresh in their mind and trying something a little new.