Thursday 13 March 2014

BIBLICAL - Monsoon Season - Album Review


Album TypeAlbum
Date Released: March 11th 2013
Label: New Damage Records

Monsoon Season track listing:

1. Second Sight
2. Traitors
3. All Justice, No Peace
4. The Quiet Crooks
5. Married Man
6. Monsoon Season 

Bio:

On a scale as epic as their name, Toronto quartet Biblical have become masters at organically creating thunderous rock that is drenched in haunting, psychedelic tinges. Forming in 2010, the group has steadily taken their 70’s proto-metal base and amp worship further and further out into a cosmic-toned trip. The resulting chemicals have manifested in their forthcoming full-length, Monsoon Season (to be released on March 11 via New Damage Records).

Kicking Monsoon Season into full gear is the album’s first track, “Second Sight,” which received its world premiere recently via Pitchfork. An introspective and reflective album, Nick Sewell (vocals/bass) says the album’s title “refers to getting ready for and weathering storms. Over the past few years, I was dealing with a lot of personal matters, including deaths in the family. I don’t consider it a negative album, but it’s reflective of the extremely rough time I found myself in.”

Comprised of Sewell, Jay Anderson (drums), Matt Mclaren (guitar/vocals) and Andrew Scott (guitar/organ), the members of the group previously served time in Toronto area bands of various musical style including The Illuminati (formerly on Century Media subsidiary Liquor And Poker Records), The Bicycles and Steamboat. As Anderson recalls, “When we originally formed, there was no template for what we wanted to do, we just wanted to play heavy music.” Sewell adds, “We just spent nine months, getting together, jamming, drinking beers and let the style work itself out.”

The style did indeed come to them and the group found themselves playing their first show opening up for Danko Jones at a sold out show for an appreciate audience. With a self-released EP and a roaring live show, Biblical became a strong act on bills with such names as Kyuss Lives, Red Fang, Fucked Up, The Sword, Monster Truck, Danko Jones, Death From Above 1979, and many others.

Constantly playing their songs as they toured across Canada the band found themselves taking more and more liberties with arrangements and integrating eerie dynamics into their already crushing sound. Sewell says “At one of our recent shows, a fan came up to me and said ‘When you guys started out, it was totally early Motorhead, but now it’s way more Hawkwind!’ I loved how he compared our evolution to that.” By the time it came to record Monsoon Season, Biblical was a different beast. Anderson philosophizes the change in the band as “sometimes embracing the fear of the bad trip or the bad high, when things take a dark turn and they’re not going your way, can be extremely intense and heavy, but that’s not a bad thing to us.”

The Band Members

Nick Sewell – Vox/Bass
Matt McLaren – Guitar/Vox
Jay Anderson – Drums
Andrew Scott – Guitar/Organ

Review:

Biblical are a hotly tipped band from Canada who have just released their debut album – Monsoon Season – which is one of the most refreshing debut albums I have heard in a very long time.
Biblical play a wide range of genres Hard Rock, Psych, Blues and Stoner Rock for one truly pulsating ride that will have you coming back time and time again. As Monsoon Season is, the album QOTSA should have made than their previous last few releases.

Monsoon Season kicks off with a great blues based hard rock number called Second Sight that shows a brief glimpse on what to expect for the next 37 minutes or so. As Biblical unleash a torrent of different emotions and riffs that will get you rocking out in no time at all. It definitely has a strange hard rocking vibe to it with lead vocalist Nick on fine form through out. He feels like an out of control preacher trying to spread his message of ROCK N ROLL!!!

Though second track – Traitors – starts of with hazy slice of 60s Psychedelic Rock which takes you on a beautiful soothing journey before the band unleash a loud volcanic riff which comes out of nowhere with blistering vocals & lyrics to match. This is where the Stoner Rock aspect comes to play though with the band adding layers of Blues Rock and Space Rock just to make things even more interesting. This is definitely one of the albums standout tracks. This track has a lot of SOUL and the band make sure you are aware of that. Play this one nice and loud.

Biblical style of music goes from Hard Rock to Stoner Rock and then some huge layers of metallic riffs when the time calls for it. It is not exactly metal but it is a lot heavier than some hard rock bands and that is the beauty of this album as Biblical play with you senses and emotions as they pack many great ideas, which will have you rocking out for days.

All Justice, No Peace once again defies genre expectations starting with vocals that reminds of an early Josh Homme in his prime. However, the band still showing their own style of emotionally charged rock n roll. The lyrics have a real sense of danger and despair to them that will bring a tear to your eye. However, it is the blazing riffs where Biblical and the album fully comes to life. These guys are on fire on this track as around the 3-minute mark one of the best guitar solos kicks this song into overdrive.

The Quiet Crooks starts with a lush psych guitar riff matched against some powerful drumming with Biblical proving their worth once again as a band with a very bright future indeed. It is a blues psychedelic number that will soon get under your skin with subtle understated vocals adding a sense of realism that will last long in the memory. This is where you will discover what a great band Biblical truly are as their musical talent shines through out this great track especially on the last couple of minutes or so.

Married Man sees Biblical playing to their Hard Rock persona with a tale that is slightly dangerous, sly and very true to life tale with a great sense of humour to it. The band are having fun here by having some sort of mini jam session before unleashing a blaze of powerful musical thrills and spills that pays homage to the 60s Psych Hard Rock Scene though matched against modern day hard rock vibes.

Now we have come to the main event. The last track – Monsoon Season – a 11 minute epic – which takes everything that has came before it and turns the album into an epic battle for survival with the band unleashing some finely tuned riffs that will have you begging for more. This is the true picture of Biblical showing their arrival to the world of rock. This is a band who knows how to command the listener’s attention with a breathtaking tale told through the power of music. It ends the album on an epic high.

This album is already causing a storm with the Hard Rock press and it is not hard to see why. Monsoon Season is simply unmissable. An outstanding debut album.

Thanks to Biblical and Zach Shaw at The Syndicate PR for sending me a promo to review. Biblical is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl now from NewDamage Records.
Check the Band from Links Below


Written by Steve Howe