Black Angels - Death Song

Austin Texas's own The Black Angels since the mid 2000's have been pushing out fantastic, slow paced, old school Psych Rock/Metal.  I actually caught on to these guys when they opened up for Queens Of The Stone Age when they were touring with them around 2006, right around when they released "Passover".  This album was sludgy, slow paced Psych Rock with a serious retro vibe going back to bands like The Doors and Black Sabbath.  The tracks they were producing were often visceral and violent, but seriously well done, especially because so many bands during this time wanted to nail this sound.  2008's "Directions To See A Ghost" was different on a multitude of levels.  It had a stronger production, and a bright vibrant atmosphere that worked wonders.  But it wasn't nearly as concise, with a whole lot of songs that didn't need to be nearly as long as they were.  But, tracks like "You In Color" and "Doves" were some of the finest tracks that had made up to that point.  2010's "Phosphene Dream" to be honest, was a really interesting change of pace.  Black Angels were still making heavily psychedelic, fuzzy rock.  But it wasn't nearly as dreary, and the metal influence has almost completely left.  No, there was almost a 60's psych feel to this, and while at first I was iffy on it, it certainly grew on me. 2013's "Indigo Meadow" went for a lot of the same feels, but for me this seriously didn't come off as flattering.  There were great tracks like "Love Me Forever", but a good chunk of the album was just a little too sunshiney for me.  I loved the sort of dark, doomy feel of their early material.  However, Black Angels on "Clear Lake Forest" for the first time in a really long time, absolutely nailed it.  This album wasn't exactly dreary or doomy but there certainly was a sinister feel to it all.  Plus there was a SERIOUS Velvet Underground feel here, especially on "Linda's Song".  These new singles have honestly, been pretty damn good.  They've certainly been the dreariest, and most chaotic and loud Black Angels tracks I've heard in forever I feel like.

(A classic for y'all)

This album starts off with “Currency”, and immediately I feel like I haven’t heard anything this dreary and looming from Black Angels in years.  Like, this seriously brings me back to some of their earliest recordings.  I don’t think there was ever a moment in Black Angels career where they haven’t been on the heavier side of things, but lets be honest they certainly went a little Sunshiney on use for a while.  Here however, this is the closest to the sort of Doomy Psych Rock that I fell in love with years ago.  No there certainly is no happiness here, the chorus here is almost a war cry for the pessimistic, and I love the very hypnotic verses.  Between the almost droning instrumentals and looping bass, I haven’t gotten this feeling from Black Angels in a very long time.  It’s refreshing to here though as depressing as it comes off.  It’s got the sort of Psych Metal feel that came with the group’s earliest material, but I think the biggest element here is the atmosphere.  The atmosphere here is absolutely gigantic.  The Black Angels sound like they’re coming at you from all sides.  Plus, as far as lyrics go, I’m digging them big time.  I feel like in their own way that the biggest horrors in the world aren’t in movies or music, but right in front of us.  It’s a haunting and exciting intro that’s worth numerous listens.  Black Angels continue to impress with the hypnotic and catchy “I’d Kill For Her”.  I feel like throughout the years Black Angels have really gone through so many phases of this very “classic” sound they go for.  But so far, it’s all came full circle in a big way.  I love the very sleazy feel to this one, lyrically I feel like vocalist Alex Maas here is channeling Jim Morrison and instrumentally/harmony-wise are going for a Velvet Underground vibe.   It all comes off really nicely though, it’s haunting when it needs to be, but it’s also the confident sounding Black Angels sound I’ve been dying to hear.  Their last few releases while they haven’t been bad, have seemed a little in the middle of all of these different Psych genres.   But this sound here works so nicely, it’s also strangely melodic.  Black Angels on “I’d Kill For Her” comes off as some black label, taboo band that you couldn’t tell your parents you liked if you grew up in the 60’s, and that’s a great sound for them.  “Half Believing” is up next, with a very haunting and atmospheric intro.  I love the subtleness of this one, the guitars just sound so lonely as they play on.  Not tp mention, these lyrics that open this track up are some of the more deep ones I’ve heard from Black Angels recently.   As a whole, “Half Believing” shows us a seriously heartbroken and emotional side to The Black Angels which we really haven’t heard in some time.  But it works great, I love the serious focus in Alex’s vocals, which is the real star here since everything else is so quiet.  It’s deep, but at the sam time they aren't letting any of their atmosphere go, because it’s just as hazy as well as heavy.  It’s not anything to write home about, but “Half Believing” is a risk that I’m glad Black Angels took.  Black Angels get right back to the sound that got them famous however with “Comanche Moon”.  Right off the bat, Black Angels are right back to the blatant homage to the Sunshine Psychedelic era of rock music, but this one is a whole lot more straightforward.  This riff has a whole lot of funk in it actually, and strangely enough is certainly going to get you moving, which I really didn’t know how to take at first.  But Black Angels pull it off great, and I feel like once again lyrically Black Angels have seriously buckled down and started writing some of their more memorable material.  Not to mention, the pacing on this one is seriously brilliant, it creeps on without any indication of when this very funky chorus is going to pop in  This isn’t nearly in the realm of Psychedelic Metal as we’ve gotten the last few tracks, but if they’re going to go for more of THIS, I’m certainly into it.  Not to mention, I love how even when Black Angels are going for a more conscious sound in their lyrics, there’s still a real darkness to them.  

“Hunt Me Down” is up next, and let me tell you this one is even more straightforward with some very bluesy riffs.  But to be honest, I don’t feel like this one comes off nearly as well.  Black Angels have always to me come off as people who dig the Classic Psych sound and respect it and bring us a modern interpretation of it.  But on “Hunt Me Down”, first off instrumentally they really don’t even sound like themselves.  They sound like just some random Indie-Blues band that decided to go for more of a classic sound.  The end result is seriously one of the flattest sounding Black Angels tracks I’ve heard in years.  While the instrumentals don’t sound really all that bad, there isn’t an atmosphere aside, which really means there’s nothing setting Black Angels aside from every other Psych Revivalist band.   Thankfully Black Angels get right back into their groove with “Grab As Much (As You Can)”.  Right off the bat, this one puts me back into that very dangerous sounding atmosphere of Black Angels that I’ve always loved.  And let me just say right off the bat, when Alex does his vocals just right, it goes right through you and he sounds like he’s singing right in your ear and it’s absolutely chilling.  I love the pounding, animalistic drums here and the haunting yet melodic vocals.  Not to mention, the vocals on the chorus here which are so delicate, often to be immediately answered with a heavy riff is absolutely brilliant. As an album so far, I love the sheer haziness of this thing.  I feel like Black Angels were sort of lost within all of the worlds current events, and I know for certain they wrote this album during election season.  But man, did it ever push them to one out with one of their most consistent works in years.  “Estimate” is up next, and right from this intro I love the very dreary sound and the use of the church organ creates a really fantastic atmosphere.  Not to mention I seriously love Alex’s delivery here too, it’s just so cold as he brings up these very grizzly topics.  But instrumentally, this one is seriously lackluster, and doesn’t give me the same overbearing feel as Black Angels tracks often do.  Not to mention that one riff over and over seriously gets repetitive very quickly.  It doesn’t come off as hypnotic or anything, it just comes off as overly simplified.  And that’s such a pain because everything else about this track is really wonderful.  However, I still feel like I’ve had more to talk about in this album than probably the last three Black Angels releases altogether, so that’s a huge plus.  “I Dreamt” stays in the sort of lackluster realm for Black Angels sadly.  I mean, at the very least, this one certainly has a little groove to it.  We’re right back to Black Angels really doing so well to worship this sound, engulfing this sound completely.  These very fuzzy guitars wailing through the entire track sound like they’re not only from a different time period, but from a different dimension.  This isn’t as instantly gratifying as some of the earlier tunes here.  It’s actually just the opposite, it’s pretty hectic and often hard to place.  But it is a step back in the right direction, and I do love Alex’s very dangerous sounding vocal performance here.  

Thankfully, Black Angels get right back in their groove in time to end this album off right.  “Medicine” to every extent is exactly what I’ve been wanting to hear from these guys.  Here, theres the same sort of groovy throwback riffs, but this one just has this massive, commanding sound to it.  Once again, we see Black Angels diving into some easier to dive into lyrics compare to their usual Psychedelic ramblings, and it makes things real easy to appreciate.  While “Medicine” remains catchy, it also has a wonderful bleakness behind everything.  I feel like these keyboards have been such a great addition to Black Angels sound, it makes their sound go from just another revivalist band to a band that embraces this sound and makes it their own. There are still great freak out moments in the lyrics, like that great line about dancing with the woman over the water.  Overall, “Medicine” is a great freakin’ track.  “Death March” is up next, with a very hypnotic riff that starts us off as well as seemingly endless amounts of reverb.  This one for me though comes off a little too hectic.  “Death March” comes off so twisted and Psychedelic that it practically engulfs the melody so that you can’t make any of it out.  It’s a great sound for Black Angels, and I love the overwhelming atmosphere, but I need a little something to grab onto amongst all of these effects.  Alex’s vocals are twisted however, and this wall of sound does work really nicely, I just wish there was a little more melody here.  This album finishes off with “LIfe Song”, and in these opening moments I can honestly say I really couldn’t have asked for much more from this track.  I love the very slow, dreary and somber tone to this one.  Alex sounds absolutely exhausted in his delivery, but doesn’t let up on his usual vibrant atmosphere.  The band behind him however is what really drives this one home.  It’s slow and quiet, but there’s just so much going on between the very slow and calculating drums to the very far out synths and spacey guitars.  “Life Song” it slow and patience texting, but it’s worth every second.  

Rating: 7.6/10

Give A Listen To: “Currency”, “I’d Kill for Her”, “Comanche Moon”, "Life Song"

Overall Thoughts:  OK so hear me out, I don't think any track here really reinvents the wheel as far as modern Psych Rock goes.  But I think this is easily the best thing Black Angels have done in a LONG time.  Black Angels seem more comfortable in their looming atmosphere and have seemed to give up on the more Sunshine Pop direction they were going in, and in return the very hulking bleak sound of their past has returned.  It's not perfect, but it's a solid Psych Rock album.