The band Geezer is spearheaded by the bassist for world renown heavy metal band Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler. This venture keeps some of that heavy sound and brings a whole different psychedelic element to it. I must admit, the label Heavy Psych Sounds is the perfect label for Geezer.
Honestly, the song “Dig” is really sweet. It begs to be heard and followed by the listener, and that bass is just awesome. It’s pretty dark and heavy, but is consistently churning things up. The fuzz on the guitars is superb, and Butler really keeps the song rockin’ with his bass. The lead guitar keeps the trip rolling along with flourishes here and there, making the song sound sturdy, yet stretchy at times. Honestly a great start to the album.
“Atlas Electra” is next up with a really smooth tempo guitar intro, and when the bass comes in and I focus on that, it makes the normal guitar that much more enamoring. This really takes the listener on a very deliberate trip with these heavy psychedelic tones and playing styles. That even tempo and repetitive guitar really stands out and gives you something to stand on while background instrumentation adds nice, far-out flourishes to the composition. Butler’s bass is just mean and powerful, in such a stupendous way. I keep getting hooked in by that repetitive guitar, only for Butler’s bass to further carry me out there. There’s a slide guitar part to the song, wow. This is going to be a great 46 minute album. And then the breakdown after the slide part. Honestly the vocals add just the right amount of texture to the tune as well.
A spacey introduction to “Dead Soul Scroll” supplemented by a steady repetitive rhythm section is really selling this album really well to me. The lyrics sound completely different this time though; its much more personal this time. This is Butler’s trip and you’re along for the ride. This song, and in turn, this album, is groovy as heck. Wow, I’m struggling to write about this song because I’m just getting down to it so much. This one is a great listen, folks.
“Awake” starts out with that feeling like you’re just waking up, and takes no time at all to get that groove going. The fuzz on the guitars is honestly such a great tone in my opinion. Butler really gets the listener in that psychedelic-type spin in this one. This album is makes for one awesome sounding trip: there’s some acoustic jangling going on in the background that you start listening to and out of nowhere this awesome juicy guitar comes in, and blows you away. Each track keeps building on the next, it’s honestly a spectacle to hear.
The next track “Groovy” has somewhat of a key change, or perhaps mood change, the sound is equally heavy as the last but its not quite as dark as the previous songs. And honestly, the song is a jam. The breakdown of the song really sells it for me; everything sort of simmers down but is kept up individually and it all comes back together in a really awesome way. This song is also 4 minutes and 20 seconds long, which many might find groovy by itself.
“Drowning on Empty” catches the listener’s ear immediately with some seriously great fuzzed out guitar chops that are complemented by this acoustic jangling that sits in the background. You think there’s gonna be a second where the song might slow down during it’s mini guitar solo, but you’re immediately pulled back in as the solo was more of a tease than anything (but it works tremendously well). Later on there’s a full-blown solo that really dazzles the listener, and the whole time the bass in the background gives you ground to stand on that makes the song that much better.
“Slide Mountain” is up next, and it has sort of an ominous beginning. Lots of space for notes to play out, and Butler’s bass playing gently in the background. At this point, Butler’s got you in a whirl and he knows it, and he’s just playing with you. That guitar in it is so pleasing to hear with all that space it’s given, also it notably has much less fuzz than other songs. This song sort of gives the listener a chance to catch their breath if they so desire, or keep going down that rabbit hole that the band has formulated. That acoustic jangling in the background might be my favorite addition to many songs on the album, because they add something so unexpected yet they add something so awesome, I can’t describe it words honestly. Give it a listen, and hopefully you’ll hear it too. The entire album so far is a spectacle.
One song left, but so far time has flown by. “Black Owl” starts super powerful. I can already tell it’s going to be wrapping up the album, and this trip you’re on in a very fitting way. It’s basically a 9 and a half minute heavy psyched out jam-piece that encapsulates the musical themes of the rest of the album very well. By no means are you not still on that ride though; you’re brought back out to space a couple of times in the track before its end and you’re brought back to earth. It ends on a really ominous spacey fade out, that leaves thinking “what the heck did I just listen to? I don’t know, but that was awesome”, or at least that’s what it left me thinking. Seriously a good listen for those looking for something groovy.
-A