By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 20/10/2017
Label: Totem Cat Records
If
you are a lover of the classic sound, you will surely listen to this one often.
"Turning Electric" is certain
to please.
"Turning Electric"
DD//LP track listing
1.
Dawn of the Falcon
2.
Turning Electric
3.
Cathexis/Mask Of Transformation
4.
Ajaghandi
5.
They Live
6.
Master Scorcerer
The Review:
Oslo,
Norway's doom metal meisters Spectral Haze have
built a ton of cred for a relatively new band. A demo and well-received debut
recording, "I.E.V.: Transmutated
Nebula Remains," cemented the quartet's reputation as standard bearers
for psychedelic/stoner metal in the vein of 1970s' legends. You may have read
some early comparisons to Hawkwind and similar
groups as well. Indeed the debut won over many fans for its mystical lyrics and
sound that was at once classic and yet contemporary.
For
you seeking that old-school-in-a-new-school-way sound, the return of Spectral Haze is welcome news. The question out there,
though, is how well the group can deliver.
"Dawn of
the Falcon" kicks it all off, and fans will not be at all
disappointed. What made Spectral Haze special
from its beginning was its attention to detail. That love for the music is on
full display here. The rhythm section launches you into the stratosphere,
fittingly considering the space theme that is threaded all through "Turning Electric." Multi-layered
guitars and a touch of keys and effects twirl about your mind. And, still
lyrically, the group remains vivid and exceptional.
Critics
have reflected positively before about how much Spectral Haze
fits in with the acts that seemingly inspired what it does. For a few
listeners, that approach may feel too derivative or safe. If that is you, "Turning Electric" does not
venture far from this roadmap. What the listener gets, though, is a grand
recording that nevertheless does the genre proud.
The
title track and into "Cathexis/Mask
Of Transformation" are quite impressive showcases for the bass and
drums, which tend to both be underappreciated in most of the genre. With just a
dash of pedals and post-production flourishes, Spectral Haze
lays down a backbeat that really allows the vocal to present the vastness of a
story. In creating the mood of a starscape and one's journey through space, the
band allows its most arresting elements such as the songwriting to truly shine.
Spectral Haze earned
praise in the past for its overall composition and song selection. "Turning Electric" continues
this tradition. The deep bluesy interpretation in a prodigious "Ajaghandi" flows right into
the jam-inflected "They Live,"
with its engrossing storytelling. Again, it is attention to those details that
drew accolades for Spectral Haze. Plenty
of songs by other artists can feel bloated. Here, there is a stimulating
quality to the solos, the lyrical peaks and valleys and crescendos. The
listener gets a clear feeling the trip is headed somewhere good, and the group
makes good on such promise.
As
the album wraps with "Master
Scorcerer," the briefest cut on the recording, it is difficult not to
wish for more output. However, if you are a lover of the classic sound, you
will surely listen to this one often. "Turning
Electric" is certain to please.
"Turning
Electric" will be available to preorder/buy here
