Album Type:Album
Date Released:
April 8th 2014
Label:
Self
Released
Mass Solace track
listing:
01. Mass Solace
02. Bursting Shell
03. Shoot Shoot Shoot
04. Oulala
05. On Your Own
06. Rare & Strong
07. Lazy
08. All My Flaws
09. Daze Me
10. Shoulder To Cry On
11. Hard To Remove
Bio:
Blondstone,
the philosopher's stone of "rock"...
Blondstone,
a trio from Nancy, take us back to where rock left off in 90's. The
band capture and surprise with their infectious, groovy mix of stoner
rock and fiery grunge overtones. They draw you into slow and
oppressive atmospheres where muted rage slowly builds up to powerful
explosions. Blondstone’s force makes you feel, with a sense of
urgency, that rock isn’t just music, it’s also a state of mind.
Their
sparkle may well catch on...
The
Band Members
Alex
Astier (guitar/vocal)
Nicolas
Boujot (bass)
Pierre
Barrier (Drums)
Review:
Blondstone
finally unleash their eagerly awaited debut album – Mass Solace.
This French Grunge/Fuzz/Stoner Rock collective pack a lot of groove
on their debut offering and it is a refreshing style of noises and
atmospherics that will entertain the heck out of you from start to
finish.
Mass
Solace is heavy fuzz arena of Grunge and Stoner Rock combining for
one delicious wall of noise. First track – Mass Solace – is the
perfect introduction to the band at it shows what these guys are all
about. Stoner Rock, Desert Rock and Grunge all playing an equal part
all held together by the power of the fuzz. Lead vocalist Alex is on
fire showing that he is serious from the start.
Blondstone
feel like a band from the legendary Desert Rock scene in California
and not from France. As Blondstone bring back early memories of riffs
that used to rule supreme in the 90s. If you want high voltage Stoner
Rock with the added groove of Grunge, Desert Rock and Fuzz then
Blondstone are the album for you. Mass Solace is the perfect Stoner
Rock album for the summer as it has 10 delicious tracks for you to
devour in the hot warm sun.
Tracks
such as – Shoot Shoot Shoot, Oulala, On Your Own and Lazy – show
the band know how to write great riffs with dangerous lyrics to match
and it makes for one wild ride. The song-writing and instrumental
work is first rate through out. However, Blondstone do add elements
of darkness into their music and it is on these more darker parts
where the band show what a dangerous unit they can actually be.
Possibly the grunge vibe kicking in but it is still a great choice to
do something different in the realm of Stoner Rock.
I
have been listening to this album non-stop for the last couple of
weeks or so and believe me when I say that Blondstone are the real
deal. They know how to write a great Stoner Rock track to rock out to
either by yourself or with a group of friends. It is another great
example why the French Stoner Metal scene is thriving and it is
thanks to bands such as Blondstone doing something different with
their music.
This
album has it all – Great tracks, Tons of epic riffs for you to lose
yourself in and it signals the arrival of a band with a very bright
future indeed. You would not think from the slightly demonic album
cover that this is a Stoner Rock album. But appearances can be
deceiving as it highlights once again that there is something
different about Blondstone. Their music has a slight dark undertone
beneath the fuzz/desert rock drenched riffs.
Mass
Solace is a spellbinding debut album and one that will find a huge
audience within the Stoner Rock scene.
Excellent
and Highly Recommended.
Thanks
to Nico for sending me a copy to review. Mass Solace is out to buy
from April 8th
2014.
Check
the Band from Links Below
Written
by Steve Howe
