GRUSOM - S/T (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: July 31st 2015

Label: Kozmik Artifactz Records

Grusom – S/T - Track Listing:

1. First Sermon

2. Come Closer

3. Evil

4. Cold Stone

5. The Journey

6. No Gods

7. Bleed For You

8. The Reaper

9. Grusome

Bio:

Just one month after releasing their demo on Bandcamp, Grusom signed with the German record label "Kozmik Artifactz Records" - November 2014. Jacob Bredahl from Dead Rat Studio did the recording of their debut album. Grusom wanted to keep the feel of the actual recording as true and authentic as possible. Jacob caught Grusom’s sound and soul by recording all music in one room at the same time. Grusom’s debut album is expected to hit the street and shelves sometime during July 2015 (vinyl, cd and digital).

Band Members:

Nicolaj Hoffmann Jul – vocals

Peter Pørtner - keys

Jakob Kaae - drums

Dennis Warburg – guitar

Thomas Ulrik – guitar

Søren Olesen - bass

Review:

Danish rockers Grusom have crafted an impressively dark debut for German record label Kozmik Artifactz. There’s a sinister Hammer Horror/satanic biker vibe underlying the album’s 9 tracks, providing Grusom a gloomy backdrop to present their fog-enshrouded blues-rock tales of creeping evil, Gothic horror and murder. While they may draw comparisons to the current scene of occult rockers with a similar ‘70s-inspired sound, they don’t particularly sound like any one of their peers.

Fans of Blood Ceremony, Graveyard, Danzig, The Doors and Steppenwolf will find common ground here. The album begins with “First Sermon”, a leslie-drenched instrumental organ prelude that showcases the brooding and densely melodic lead organ (and later, piano) of Peter Pørtner. From there on in, the tasteful dual guitars of Dennis Warburg and Thomas Ulrik expertly trade off melody and rhythm with Pørtner, never competing for space in the arrangement. Nicolaj Hoffman Jul’s impassioned and powerful vocals are a highlight throughout the record; he has a quality in his voice that breaks up nicely when he pushes it in the heavier moments, and every phrase is filled with haunted emotion.

For a band this young (forming in 2013, they signed in late 2014 from a 3 song DIY demo they’d just released) this is a very cohesive debut. Tracks 3, 8 and 9 come from the aforementioned demo, and are among the strongest songs on the record, but really there aren’t any misfires here. After several spins through I’m really digging the haunted, organ-soaked heavy blues vibe of this album as a whole. Well worth a listen/purchase.

Words by Bill Kole

Thanks To Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. Grusom – S/T – album will be available to buy from Kozmik Artifactz Records on CD/Vinyl from July 31^st 2015.

For More Information

Facebook | BandCamp

Narrenschiff - Of Trees And Demons (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: May 11th 2015

Label: Self Released

Of Trees And Demons - Track Listing:

1.Ocean 05:16

2.Atomic axilla, robot Godzilla 05:21

3.Suzy 06:16

4.Trees and Demons 06:35

5.Desert 11:15

6.57 07:30

7.Event horizon 13:55

Members:

Mattia Leonardo Bozzetti (Guitar)

Riccardo Pancotti (Bass/Vocals)

Gerson De Oliveira (Drums)

Review:

Narrenschiff is a relatively new band formed in 2010 Senigallia, a port town on Italy’s Adriatic coast. They released a demo in 2014 before signing to Red Sound Records for ‘Of Trees and Demons’, their first full-length, released in May of 2015. Their name seems derived from the Germanic Das Narrenschiff,translating into “ship of fools” - both the name of a collection of (mostly) religious satire illustrated in part by famed Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer and a painting by Dutch surrealist Hieronymus Bosch.

Narrenschiff’s sound seems equally informed by both doom and desert rock. There also seems to be strong ties to their coastal town; a number of the songs have nautical themes and the album opens with the sound of a storm at sea. The riffs themselves ebb and flow between crashing waves of sound and moments of serenity. Samples (Godzilla 1985, Dune and Invasion of the Body Snatchers among them) also help to set the mood.

Singer and bassist Richard Pancotti’s vocals call to mind Christian Linderson/Lord Chritus in Terra Firma (albeit a bit lower in register) with a taste of Ben Ward’s trademark Orange Goblin grit. Pancotti’s bass playing suits the tracks well, never crowding the melody while constantly driving the rhythm. The lyrics, sung in English, are poetic and intelligent, though his endearing accent at times will have you reaching for the lyric sheet. Mattia Leonardo Bozzetti’s rhythm sound is fuzzy and warm, reminiscent of the self titled QOTSA record or Celestial Season’s Orange record; he borrows from Josh Homme’s bag of tricks over the course of the album’s 7 tracks without totally aping his style.

When the dynamics dip down,I’m reminded of Colour Haze’s Stefan Koglek’s and when the leads kick in, they are awash in psychedelic chorus, flange and reverb, more melody than flash. Drummer Gerson De Oliveira pounds the drums like they owe him money, a veritable Brant Bjork that pairs well with Bozetti’s playing and creates a solid backbone for Narrenschiff’s well-crafted tunes. The highlights for me here are “Suzy” and “Trees and Demons”, but most fans of the genre will find something to sink their teeth into in each of “Of Trees and Demons” songs. This first full-length by Narrenschiff pays respect to their influences and shows a band well on the way to creating a sonic niche of their own- the sound of the desert by the sea.

Words by: Bill Kole

For More Information

Facebook | BandCamp