Void Generator - Supersound (2014)

2014 CD Phonosphera Records ph06

2014 LP Phonosphera Records ph06v

          It is not easy to write a review of the great italian band Void Generator for its almost unknown content. You can't know what VG will do the next time and how their release will sound. If you know the previous releases, Phantom Hell and Soar Angelic, Collision ep, We Have Found The Space and so on, you should expect something different from a Supersound like that.

           We are talking about 7 super songs playing a shorter time that Phantom Hell facing with a superfuzzed guitars, a super grooving drumming, very improved vocals and a different direction that we could call an heavy psych with a range of nuances.

           Behind My Door is an heavy pysch song running a weird timing and a fantastic guitar solo at the end. Synapsex is a sort of stoner rush where the band shows all its playing expertise with a very nice middle organ work. Master Of The Skies is a sort of occult/sixties rock reminiscence running on a waltz timing...oh how good is this song ! Check the guitar solo, it's a masterpiece. Here the vocals seem close to James Douglas Morrison.

            Then What Are You Doin', a cover of McChurch Soundroom, that is organ driven (remember: you'll find mr. Enrico Cosimi on keyboards...), super groovy and super sixties. Hidden Orbit is a sort of modern heavy song lying on a super odd heavy riffing going into a super grooving verse. Universal Winter is an acoustic and super lonely psychedelic song that breaks your groovy mood had before. Globular Cluster is a sort of homage to Monster Magnet of Superjudge.  

                 Ultimately you'll find here: heavy psych, stoner, prog, psychedelia, doomish mood, super recording, super playing, super production, super groove. A Supersound.

                   Don't miss it, this is one of the best release around and it is intended to be that for a long time.   

Tracklist

1 - Behind My Door 8:09

2 - Synapsex 4:38

3 - Master Of The Skies 9:33

4 - What Are You Doin' 4:17

5 - Hidden Orbit 6:24

6 - Universal Winter 3:32

7 - Globular Cluster 5:04

Greenleaf - Trails & Passes (2014)

2014 CD Small Stone Records ss 147

        Greenleaf from Sweden is Bengt Bäcke: bass, Sebastian Olsson: drums, Tommi Holappa: guitar, Arvid Jonsson: vocals and they play stoner rock.
        That's all we could say. This is stoner rock as many have been and probably many will be. It's a good release if you like stoner rock but if you think that such scene needs something new you can easily withdraw it.  

Tracklist

1 Our Mother Ash
2 Ocean Deep
3 Equators
4 Depth Of The Sun
5 Humans
6 With Eyes Wide Open
7 The Drum
8 Bound To Be Machines
9 Trails & Passes

Insider - Event Horizon (2013)

2013 CD Andruid Records (AR 001)

       After 'Vibrations From The Tapes' Insider are back with Event Horizon this time produced for their own label Andruid Records.

       Ranalli Bros. and Stefano Di Rito realize - alleluia - a different work. Do not expect anything of what you have already heard from the band of Pescara (Italy).

       The platter is completely instrumental and runs in eight tracks by the apparent heavy metal prog flavor. Imagine a series of metal riffs that run, varying, on a series of temporal and melodic scansion constantly in motion, some would say having no chorus.

        A proposal that is more cerebral than directly emotional.

       The effort, I assure you, it's huge. For sure, if you can't live without Fu-Manchu then forget about it as soon as possible, but if you are going to listen something 'different', that broadens your sensory faculties, then take a look at the odd timing, the distortion of the Pro Co Rat golden-era and the architecture of the old prog stuff.

      On the other side, the result is not equal to the effort, because - undoubtedly - listening to Event Horizon is not the easiest and relaxing thing in the world. In the long run it becomes difficult to remain 'on the piece'.
      An edition as ep, with a careful choice of the pieces, (3/4) at the maximum, would have been more efficient and nothing would take away the intrinsic value of the work.  

Tracklist

1) Escape Velocity  6:59
2) Magnetic field lines 8:39
3) Gravitational mass 9:14
4) Jet 6:05
5) Event horizon 3:37
6) Expansion of the universe 9:10
    a) inertia
    b) quantum fluctuations
    c) development of galaxies
    d) dark energy
    e) synthesis of elements
    f) the present universe
7) Black hole 9:00
8) White hole 6.07