I’ve been nearing the end of my queue after continually adding things over the past few months, and though I still haven’t reached the end, I saw the It’s Psychedelic Baby magazine Instagram account post about these guys the other day, and I really dig the artwork and album title, so I figured I’d give them a listen. There’s not a whole bunch of info on them online – their official Facebook page describes the project “Born and raised on the Heavy Sound of 69, Dead Shaman find his way between catchy riffs and dirty blues”, so I’m pretty stoked to hear what’s in store. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Cosmic Trigger” starts out with some great raw guitar chords that remind me a lot of a certain 1965-1966 garage rock, but these get rockin’ pretty hard pretty quickly, reminiscent of early days of hard rock and to some extent, heavy metal. Oh wow, the bass tone is absolutely awesome – it really bops and grooves the tune nicely with quick plucking and movements. Oh wow, the little guitar solo has some absolutely delicious flavor as the guitar nearly melts into the soundscape as it shreds with some wah pedal sounds. This song is sweet. The vocals have an almost guttural sound to them, and the drums really rock the tune forward. Great track.
“Mariana Trench” has a super groovy sort of heavy blues rock feel that I’m absolutely digging right now. The accent in the vocals brings a really interesting and unique sound to the mix as well, especially as they have a guttural sound – almost like a super dark blues – super sweet. Oh wow, the music is all super tight, with not a hint of a wasted moment as the band keeps the song dynamic with breaks for sound effects to build tension, leaving you at the edge of your seat as the music comes back on to relieve that tension. Holy smokes, this guitar solo part is super sweet – it sort of stands away from some of the darkness that may or may not be prevalent in the tune, and changes up to more a straight up psychedelic ’68-’69 psychedelic rock sound as the cymbals crash around it. Great tune.
“Valis (Hit by a Beam)” gives you only a moment to catch your breath before this tune gets rockin’ and picking up in intensity as it goes along. Oh wow, this is sweet – there’s some sort of synth-sounding effect that makes a quick pass through the soundscape and gets you in a whirl as the band fills up the soundscape around you with some heavy psychedelia-inflected blues rock jams. Wow, I’m super into this song and album at this point. The music itself is almost like a giant shout into a void, as the repetitive and enchanting bass riffs seemingly groove you through the soundscape and the drums crash around you, with the guitar playing making things even more intense. Super sweet track.
“Monday Sucks” starts out super quick and possibly even more intense than the previous track, which is impressive in its own right. Oh wow, this guitar solo is awesome – it’s got a ton of great ’60s psychedelic flavor and energy to its playing during the solos. Holy smokes, this is sweet – the band is almost in a sort of bluesy psychedelic-inflected funk groove with the guitar keeping rhythm with some tight, staccato’d garage rock sounding chords and a more delicate approach from those steady drums as the bass gets strange with an envelope filter or wah pedal and distortion to take the groove pretty far out there. Holy smokes, when that little funky break ends, the playing seems to pick up the intensity from earlier in the song tenfold. This is sweet. Great track.
“Opk” starts out with some sort of delicate plucking from the bass to get a groove going, which is soon joined by some flavorful bluesy garage rock sounding guitar chords, and some really rockin’ drums that have a ton of force behind each strike in the tasty beat. Oh wow, this is sweet – the band is sort of breaking down a really tasty groove, taking it far out, and reeling it right back in as they seem to play with the respective listener’s ears. Oh wow, this groove at the end of the tune is awesome. Another sweet track.
Oh wow, “Sunday’s Psychedelic Breakfast” starts out with some super tasty guitar that makes you feel like a sort of desperado on an epic journey through the desert, with the high noon sun beating down on you as you sip your last drink of water you’ll be able to take for at least 100 miles. Absolutely awesome. The build-up in the playing from the band in this is super tasty – I’m super into this track. The band has seemingly taken a bit more of a relaxed sound, with the bass gently grooving things along and the drums not necessarily crashing with as much intensity is earlier, but this more delicate touch in this not only adds to the dynamic feel of the album as whole, but is seemingly expertly applied as the band takes you through a far out, psychedeli-sized journey; the tasty guitar work, both in terms of the wah pedal usage and distortion as well as the playing itself, takes on the role of a shaman throughout this extensive jam so far – absolutely awesome. I keep looking at how far into the song I am, and I’m getting excited knowing how much more there is to go. Oh wow, the guitar playing really continues to evolve with the effects, intensity, and style as well, bringing even more dynamic sound to the foray of this soundscape. Oh wow, the guitar sort of fades out occasionally, and the drums and bass have such a sturdy rhythm section going – they almost serve as a trusty steed for this desert-desperado-shamanic epic track, without any hint of letting up as the song progresses. Holy smokes, this jam just keeps on giving – absolutely awesome. Oh wow, the guitar sort of fades to the background bit as it seems to explore the soundscape from new angles in the background, and the drums and bass change up a little bit with some even more delicate playing from the bass in the soundscape and some super interesting reverb to some of the strikes on the drums. Oh wow, the bass changes up a bit and gets a bit more intense as the guitar seems to have exited for a moment, only for the guitar to come back in even more intense than earlier, with the drums beginning to crash around the soundscape as well. This is sweet, and is definitely one epic tune. Holy smokes, this band seems to be building to a massive crescendo of sorts for the outro, ripe with chaos and intense playing from all members of the band. Oh wow, the guitar seems to melt into the soundscape with some sort of envelope filter or wah pedal, and the bass syncs up nicely to connect with both the drums and guitar. Oh wow, the outro seems to drone on for a moment, as you’re seemingly left to sit with some final thoughts from this track. Super awesome jam, great track.
Wow, this album was sweet. I’m going to have to relisten to especially the last track, as there are a bunch of great flavors from the bluesy hard rock, stoner rock, and psychedelic rock realms throughout the album, all tied together with massive amounts of energy and a dynamic approach that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It reminded me a bit of the Geezer album, Groovy (2020), which I listened to earlier in the year, though this album provided a unique listening experience, to my ears, at least. If you enjoy stoner rock and/or some heavier psychedelic rock sounds, you might want to check out this album. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A