stoner rock
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We're back in the amazingly wide desert of stoner rock. Over the past years/decades this genre has been spreading like an evergrowing octupus and digging its tentacles into the worlds of metal, post-rock, hardcore and psychedelic rock. Today we're going on a journey through space with a trio from Greece. A trio that doesn't claim to be unique or original but just wants to play their immersive music, preferably quite loud.
Arrakis was born in 2012 and released a first effort in the form of an e.p. last year. 'Ammu Dia' is their debut full-length and, although it doesn't show a headliner in the genre (yet), it's a very promising one. Prepare for an hour of instrumental stoner rock and psychedelic jam rock in the vein of bands like Monkey3, Karma To Burn and several other worshippers of The Riff.
The seven songs on this album are excellent examples of vintage stoner rock, alternating heavy riffs with long outbursts of psychedelic landscapes. The fact that there's absolutely no vocals, nor samples, makes it more challenging for the band to maintain a decent level of variation and in a way all of the songs sound quite alike. Yet, that doesn't harm the overall quality of the album.
What strikes me most is the experimental nature of some of these intense jamsessions. At times things get a bit noisier but no matter where the music leads to, it always returns to the glorious, vintage riffing that was invented and perfected in the seventies. On this album, it shows a band that is gaining confidence and that carries the stoner heart in the correct place.
Besides the obvious influences from early day stoner rock bands, I'd like to mention that 'Aztec' reminds me a lot of my all time favorite band, Kong. This is a (mostly) uptempo track with a brilliant drive and some very strong riffs. Many of the songs are, but this one stands out because of the earlier mentioned reference.
In all, this album fits in well between your albums of Colour Haze, My Sleeping Karma or Om. 'Ammu Dia' shows a good band on its way to becoming a great band and in that way it's an excellent debut. I hope that this trio will continue to grow and evolve their songwriting abilities. If so, I dare to say that we're dealing with a very interesting player in the future stoner scene.
Serge
Arrakis was born in 2012 and released a first effort in the form of an e.p. last year. 'Ammu Dia' is their debut full-length and, although it doesn't show a headliner in the genre (yet), it's a very promising one. Prepare for an hour of instrumental stoner rock and psychedelic jam rock in the vein of bands like Monkey3, Karma To Burn and several other worshippers of The Riff.
The seven songs on this album are excellent examples of vintage stoner rock, alternating heavy riffs with long outbursts of psychedelic landscapes. The fact that there's absolutely no vocals, nor samples, makes it more challenging for the band to maintain a decent level of variation and in a way all of the songs sound quite alike. Yet, that doesn't harm the overall quality of the album.
What strikes me most is the experimental nature of some of these intense jamsessions. At times things get a bit noisier but no matter where the music leads to, it always returns to the glorious, vintage riffing that was invented and perfected in the seventies. On this album, it shows a band that is gaining confidence and that carries the stoner heart in the correct place.
Besides the obvious influences from early day stoner rock bands, I'd like to mention that 'Aztec' reminds me a lot of my all time favorite band, Kong. This is a (mostly) uptempo track with a brilliant drive and some very strong riffs. Many of the songs are, but this one stands out because of the earlier mentioned reference.
In all, this album fits in well between your albums of Colour Haze, My Sleeping Karma or Om. 'Ammu Dia' shows a good band on its way to becoming a great band and in that way it's an excellent debut. I hope that this trio will continue to grow and evolve their songwriting abilities. If so, I dare to say that we're dealing with a very interesting player in the future stoner scene.
Serge