By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 29/09/2017
Label: Nuclear Blast
The sound off the album is positively low-fi, the title track a
noisy and lurching beast and “Into The Wormhole” sounds like a slowed down
record being played through a torn speaker. There are sojourns into more proggy territory with “The
Lost Child”, but for me it is when the band utilise the most Neanderthal
sounds that they are most effective. The verdict? A lot better than their first two
albums and an interesting, engaging listen.
“Rough
Times“CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Rough Times (3:38)
2. Into The
Wormehole (4:17)
3. Skeleton Blues (4:24)
4. Die Baby Die (4:18)
5. Vampires (4:48)
6. Tribulation Nation (5:04)
7. Words Of Evil (3:37)
8. The Lost Child (5:52)
9. You Found The Best in Me (4:58)
10. A L'Ombre Du Temps (3:57)
The Review:
Kadavar are Berlin's premier 70's retro rock revivalists and I have followed
their career somewhat loosely since their 2013 “Abra Kadavar” album which featured a very seventies production in
terms of instrument placement and a small dose of Sabbath
to go with their Deep Purple, Budgie, Coven,
Blue Cheer, Zeppelin et. al. references. Not doom, for
sure, but not only classic rock... Since then, of course, a myriad of bands
have come to the fore who deal in similar retro-nostalgia (Gentleman's Pistols are still the best outfit
with a retro leaning).
With “Rough
Times”, I have missed out on one of the band's albums so I don't know quite
how this fits into their continuum but I do know that this is much rougher than
the first two records- as the title may obliquely suggest. This is closer to
the MC5 and The Stooges in terms of sound and aggression
than it is to Budgie. The sounds is
positively low-fi, the title track a noisy and lurching beast. “Into The
Wormhole” sounds like a slowed down record being played through a torn
speaker.
The rest of the record is just as gnarly- “Skeleton
Blues” is a primal groove of distorted bass and guitar with reverb drenched
vocals. The lyrics capture the Zeitgeist of fake news and confusion in
prescient terms. As such, then, for a retro band Kadavar
are remarkably up to date in themes and concerns- of the ten tracks, all sound
like they could have been recorded between 1968 and 1975, but most of the
lyrics could only come from the here and now- an odd combination, but one that
makes their sound more alluring, at least for me.
Whether it be the lost innocence and cynicism of “Vampires”,
the political sounding “Tribulation Nation” or even the straight rocker “Words
of Evil” with its metaphors, all the songs are bang up to date: or could
apply to any era of trouble and strife you could name. There are sojourns into
more proggy territory with “The Lost Child”, but for me it is when the
band utilise the most Neanderthal sounds
that they are most effective. There is melody aplenty in “You Found The Best
In Me” and it features as the middle track in the closing triumvirate where
the band spread their wings beyond the Berlin/Detroit axis and venture into
more unusual sounds and styles. The final statement of “A L'Ombre Du Temps”
is again current, retro and a departure for the band.
The verdict? A lot better than their first two
albums and an interesting, engaging listen.
“Rough Times” is available
here