Saturday 1 November 2014

MOTHERSHIP - II (Album Review)


Album Type: Album
Date Released: Nov 10th 2014 (UK) / Nov 11th 2014 (USA)
Label: Ripple Music

Mothership - II – Tracklisting

1. Celestial Prophet
2. Priestess of the Moon
3. Shanghai Surprise
4. Holy Massacre
5. Centauromachy
6. Hot Smoke & Heavy Blues
7. Tamu Massif
8. Astromancer
9. Serpents Throne

Bio

Supersonic intergalactic heavy rock trio Mothership based out of Dallas, Texas give a real sense of hope that all is well in the universe, and that pure honest rock and roll has once again returned to this planet on a mission to unite true believers. Consisting of brothers Kyle Juett on bass/lead vocals, Kelley Juett on guitar/vocals, and Judge Smith on drums, these guys have created a unique sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, paired with a deadly chalice of Black Sabbath. Mothership’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70′s, updated and amped up for the modern day. The band has been non-stop road warriors since the release of their debut album in February 2013 on Ripple Music successfully invading the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe playing either on festival stages, night clubs, or outdoors under the sun at motorcycle parties.

Members

Kelley Juett- Guitars/Vox
Kyle Juett- Bass/Vox
Judge Smith- Drums

Review:

18 months later - Mothership - are primed to return to Earth and release their second album - II. This hard-rocking trio's debut album was critically acclaimed by fans and critics alike that made them a favourite with the Hard Rock/Stoner Rock crew with. I rated it highly when I reviewed back in Feb 2013. So what can we expect with II.

Well lets see if the magical ingredients are in place with what made their debut such a great release.
  • Signed to Ripple Music - Check
  • Kent Stump (Wo Fat) engineering the album - Check
  • Mothership ready to unleash some holy heck - Check
Yeah that's all the checks done. Lets get started with this review II. Let's say that Mothership are louder and heavier than before as II is ready to blast your hearing into space and beyond. II is a different album altogether from their celebrated debut album. II sees Mothership venture into the more seedier, dirtier and heavier side of Rock/Metal music. Sure, they still have the old cosmic space rock riffs showing up from time to time.

Though as a whole, II is a major step forward for Mothership as a band. They have successfully managed to create a new sound for themselves while still keeping their existing fanbase happy. Opening track - Celestial Prophet - is an instrumental spacey ambient based track with soothing riffs being played at a slow pace before heavy thunderous riffs start to appear in the middle of the song. Consider this song the "Calm Before The Storm" as Mothership are about to take you on a wild ride of rock and roll as for the next 50 mins or so, your entire being belongs to Mothership. Kyle, Kelly and Judge are ready to entertain you.

Second track - Priestess Of The Moon - sees Mothership further enrich themselves with 70s classic hard rock territory as they weave a magical dark tale that echoes memories of legendary bands past and present. The album becomes slightly trippy and hypnotic as Kelley plays some stunning guitar solos with spacey ambient noises ending the song off before Mothership once again unleash rock & roll havoc with Shanghai Surprise. This is where the seedier Mothership start coming to play with some funny as heck lyrics that ZZ-Top were masters at back in the day. What inspired Mothership to write this song? I have no idea. You will know when you hear it, as I don't want to spoil the funny as hell surprise and hidden meaning of the song. Trust me though as you will be signing this song as loud as you possibly can. II, like it's predecessor, this album has a huge likeability factor and that is down to the brilliant chemistry of all 3 members playing an equal role in bringing Mothership to life.

II has it's equal share of dark and funny moments that make this album such an exciting blast of pure rock and roll to listen to. Songs such as Holy Massacre, Centauromachy see Mothership venture into almost Doom Metal territory, which they pull off with great conviction. Maybe it's best for you not to care what genres that Mothership play on the album. Just enjoy the ride as this album is packed full of great moments for every hard rock fan to love and enjoy. II is one big party-fest of hard-rocking riffs, grizzled vocals and killer lyrics that sounds awesome thanks to Kent's stellar work on engineering duties. Hot Smoke & Heavy Blues is one of the album standout tracks as Mothership unleash a torrent of blazing riffs and vocals to thrill you with.

Another standout track has to be - Tamu Massif. A 6 minute plus psychedelic instrumental track as Mothership play an extended jam-based cosmic riff where things get very loud indeed. It has a slight laid-back approach compared to other tunes but when Mothership vent their fury, you had better stand back as they play some powerful riffs to entertain you with. II is a brilliant album. I was expecting something good from Mothership but not an album as good as this. This is gonna further enhance Mothership's reputation as one of the best hard rock bands currently out there and one to keep an eye on in 2015. II is an album as this album has it all. A stunning album that may end up on a few best of album lists. That's how seriously that great it is. Whatever you do, buy this when it comes out.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Cat Jones at Southern Cross PR for sending us a promo. II will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from Ripple Music on 10th Nov 2014 (UK) and 11th Nov 2014 (USA).


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