Just the other day I saw Psychedelic Baby Magazine post about The Sixth Chamber, and nearly right away I was interested. The Sixth Chamber is a dark acid goth rock group that’s been playing since 2001 and is currently based in Los Angeles. According to the group’s Bandcamp page, their music contains a wide range of influences ranging from gothic, doom, metal, experimental, psychedelic, blues, poetic, and fantasy and horror. which is all presented with a mystical rock and roll style. This album, Crippled Souls (2013), is the group’s first studio album, which was finished recording in 2004 yet wasn’t released until 2013 due to a tumultuous line-up at the time. I’m pretty stoked to check out this album, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Contagious” starts out with some really quick and heavy riffing that feels reminiscent of the early 1970s Black Sabbath. I’m really digging the dark, hard rock style of this track. Oh wow, there’s some really interesting stuff happening with the bass line and what sounds to be a synthesizer of some sort that creates a somewhat eerie, yet pleasant harmony with the bass line. Oh wow, the song seems to continually get darker, as though it’s going down a rabbit hole of dark, doom rock of some sort. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Plastic Doesn’t Feel Pain” has a really interesting darkness again that I’m really digging. The distorted chords from the rhythm guitar play off of the fat bass line really nicely. I’m really digging the lead guitar as well, which reminds me a bit of occult rock bands like Coven or even Psychedelic Witchcraft. I’m also reminded a bit of the early days of Avenged Sevenfold with the heavy riffing in this track. Great tune.
“Ritual Murder” starts out with some big bass drums that create an ominous rumbling, which is soon joined by some distorted electric guitar that sounds as though it’s conjuring up some metal or hard rock borne of the shadows of an old, abandoned Transylvanian castle. I’m really digging this track so far. Oh wow, the bass line almost has a bit of a punk rock sound reminiscent of Mike Watt. Holy smokes, the guitar solo jumps in with psychedelic sort of style that’s somehow hooked me further into the music. Great track.
“Possessed” starts out with a big, droning guitar chord and a really groovy and somewhat dark swing from the drums, which combine for a sound that reminds me of doom metal and stoner rock groups like Dead Shaman or even Dead Meadow. Oh wow, the vocals again remind me of Coven, as they sound like they’re conjuring something from the shadows, especially in the context of the rest of the instrumentation. Oh wow, there’s a really hypnotic quality in both the guitar work and vocals at the end of the track. Great tune.
“Princess Doe” gets going with a quick pace in the drums, and some rough, somewhat raw guitar work that come together to sound like a punk rock band like the Dead Kennedys playing in Dracula’s castle, and I’m very much digging the sound. Oh wow, the ending of the track adds a few layers in as the song comes to a crescendo. Super sweet tune.
Holy smokes, “Mesmera’s Gaze” starts out with some heavy instrumentation that culminates in a scream from the singer, which launches the soundscape into a really hypnotic, heavy movement. There’s an electric guitar that plays with a sort of dark, eastern European folk-line with a mesmerizing quality reminiscent of a snake charmer. The bass tone is super fat in this track. I’m reminded a lot of the Resident Evil main movie theme, mashed up with some sort of dark European folk, meets early 1970s Black Sabbath. Holy smokes, I’m really digging this track. The band lists “vampire” as one of the tags on a lot of their work on the group’s Bandcamp page, and after hearing the album thus far, it makes a lot of sense. Wow, great track.
“The Witch Doctor” begins with a massive, steady bass drum, which acts as a sort of strong and steady heartbeat. Oh wow, the guitars come in and almost create a dark, psychedelic shoegazing sound with the textures in the distortion that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the main chorus almost has an upbeat sort of sound, which the verses each build up and break through to in a really groovy way. Holy smokes, there’s a scrapping sort of sound that meanders about the soundscape in a really psychedelic manner for a moment. Oh wow, the ending guitar lines combined with the steady beat and bass line have a really hypnotic feel. Great track.
“Crippled Souls” gets grooving right away with a dynamic bass line, strong beat, and some sort of strange-sounding guitar work that sounds like a really interesting combination of The Doors and Minuemen, which are also both bands from Los Angeles like The Sixth Chamber. Oh wow, the final movement of the track changes things up and seems to move up an octave. Super sweet track.
Holy smokes, “Paradise Lost” starts with some uncomfortable, syncopated dissonance from the drums, bass, guitar, and even the vocals. Oh wow, the song has a really melodious break for a moment, before resolving back to a movement that sounds like the uncomfortable intro, but a bit less dissonant. The track broke through to a somewhat more melodious movement again, but it doesn’t seem to be as melodious as the first melodic movement in the song, as though the band is coming to some sort of somewhat uncomfortable, yet very intriguing equilibrium. Super sweet tune.
“Guerrilla Tactics” begins right away with some mysterious vocals driven forward by a fat bass line and a strong backbeat. I really dig the distorted, somewhat droning quality of the rhythm guitar, which sort of have a mesmerizing psychedelic quality. Oh wow, the lead guitar plays some really interesting and dark licks during the solo. I’m really reminded a fair deal of Avenged Sevenfold’s first two albums, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001) and Waking the Fallen (2003). Super sweet track.
Holy smokes, “Crossed Fingers” starts out with some entrancing acoustic guitar that have a quality that makes it sound like what Dracula might play if he were in an old metal band in Transylvania. Oh wow, I really dig the bridge to this song, which gets things grooving into a really dark, hypnotic, melodic, and psychedelic motion. Wow, great track.
“Imperial Horror” begins with a dark, occult sort of movement that makes it sound like the band is winding things up a bit. Oh wow, the lyrics take on an anti-war protesting quality as the song moves into a punk rock territory that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the track has a chaotic, yet melodic outro to finish the album. Great track and a great way to end the album.
Wow, I’m glad I checked out this album tonight. Before listening to this, I don’t think I’d ever heard what I would consider to be vampire rock, but this certainly gets close. The album alternates between a dark, heavy, hard rock style with occult tropes, along with a sort of punk sound reminiscent of groups like the Dead Kennedys or Minutemen, while there also seem to be psychedelic elements laced throughout. If you’re into occult rock at all or the styles of groups like early 1970s Black Sabbath and early 1980s Minutemen, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A