By: Peter Morsellino
Album Type: EP
Date Released: 04/01/2020
Label: Independent
“Shinji
Kazama” DD track
listing:
1). Wot I Like
2). I’m Enough
3). Blackfoot
4). Future99Corridor
5). Whorls of Hydrilla
The Review:
There are few places I have travelled to that I
dislike more than Western NY . Granted, these
experiences are mainly based on personal strife’s, sports team preference, and
anecdotes about weather that I have graciously never been subjected to; but I
am a grown man and as such am entitled to hold irrational grudges at my own
discretion.
But in the interest of fairness, despite personal
grievances, I would be remiss if I did not point out that the good city of Rochester seems to breed
some of the best doom and stoner rock in the state. From the bluesy acid jams
of King
Buffalo, to the earth rattling gloom of Orodruin, there just must be
something in the water. Today, I am very glad to add to that list: Shinji Kazama.
The self titled release from these spaced out
fuzzheads is stoner rock at its absolute finest. The jams are smooth enough to
make you move but complex enough to keep you thinking. We're not looking at
potheads with displaced aggression here, folks. This is a finely tuned
psych-metal machine. This is Orange Goblin goes to art school, in the best
possible way. The jams are fresh and keep the listener engaged, without once
approaching the realm of overstaying their welcome. Honestly, I was two tracks
into this album before I realized this was an instrumental band.
With guitars evoking violin like sustain, seismic
shifting bass lines and drums expertly straddling the line between jazzy
technicality and just plain heavy as hell, this band has it all. Reminiscent
of Pink
Floyd just as much as Mastodon and perfectly blended at that. Stand
out track "I'm Enough"
opens with riffage that could wake the dead before gliding seamlessly into a
middle section that would fit perfectly in with the best of the summer festival
jam rockers.
This is a band to keep an eye on, and if you are
anywhere near the area, Rochester is worth the visit if only for a taste of
what the finest in Stoner Metal has to offer. I'll be sparking up to these guys
tonight, and I highly recommend doing the same.
“Shinji Kazama” is available HERE
Band info: bandcamp || facebook