Monday 30 May 2016

Bardus - "Stella Porta" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 01/04/2016
Label: Solar Flare Records


Bardus go straight for the jugular with “Smoke Bath”, a ragged adrenaline rush, like Nirvana tearing through early Kylesa and if the idea of Yob having their drinks spiked with amphetamines appeals to you, “Stella Porta” will be right up your street.  This record is a swift, addictive rush of all the best elements of heavy music and will ensure you keep coming back for more throughout 2016.


“Stellar Porta” CD//DD track listing:

1. Smoke Bath
2. Monolith
3. Sky King
4. Transcendence
5. Haze
6. Oracle
7. Clandestine

The Review:

With its trippy, mushroom-based cover art and track titles like “Haze” and “Transcendence”, “Stella Porta” sets certain expectations. The latest LP from Philadelphian trio, Bardus definitely delivers a far-out ride but not in the stereotypical stoner rock fashion you may have in mind.

Bardus go straight for the jugular with “Smoke Bath”, a ragged adrenaline rush, like Nirvana tearing through early Kylesa. They proceed to hone this combination of filthy grunge and gut-churning sludge to perfection over the course of the album. Justin Tuck’s raw howl is a key ingredient, imbued with an intensity that heightens the urgency of the band’s already frenzied assault.

This alone would be a sweet recipe for success but Bardus raise the stakes with frequent outbursts of acid-fried psychedelia. “Monolith” shifts from hard riffing into a delay-soaked voyage into the beyond, to mind-melting effect, while the band demonstrates all their strengths simultaneously on the spaced-out racket of “Oracle”. If the idea of Yob having their drinks spiked with amphetamines appeals to you, “Stella Porta” will be right up your street.

Bardus manage to pull off the difficult balance of high-octane punk aggression and unchained cosmic jams to perfection. A swift, addictive rush of all the best elements of heavy music, “Stella Porta” is sure to keep you coming back for more throughout 2016.

Stella Porta” is available here



Band info: bandcamp || facebook