Post by jptheprofessor on May 18, 2008 21:43:19 GMT -5
SATANIC BAT – TALES FROM THE SOUTHLAND…TALES FROM THE SEA (Oppressive Sound System Releases) Hailing from Pittsburgh, Satanic Bat takes classic heavy blues-rooted rock on a psychedelic, doom, acid and space rock joyride on their latest CD, Tales from the Southland…Tales from the Sea. Over the album’s nine tracks, lead singer and drummer Steve Sobeck, guitarists Dave Warren and J.D. Howell, and bassist Jon Milliren explore musical territory first mapped out in the late 60’s and early 70’s by Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Grand Funk Railroad and Hawkwind; carrying forth the torch from more recent stoner-rock adventurers like Clutch and Monster Magnet. Satanic Bat’s sound is deep and heavy; a sludge of thick bass lines, battering-ram drum rhythms and gnashing, swarming guitar chords often filtered through various distortion and effects, and topped with Sobeck’s hearty vocal howl. But the presentation is vibrant, as the aggressive arrangements and agitated performances prevent Satanic Bat’s update of dinosaur rock from getting bogged down in quicksand. The songs range from the tough-rocking opener “Dead Dixie Driver,” the rumbling “Human Genome Worry Doll” and escalating thunderstorm “White Gypsy/Dirty Talkin’ Flower” to the Hendrix-flavored “Norse Sagas,” to blues-informed exercises like “Great Things from Sand and Clay” and “Southern Rock Plantation.” The album is punctuated with two instrumentals; the spacey guitar interlude “The Kraken Returns with Saturn,” and the driving “Skull Bong Rock.” Capping the adventure is the wild, 13-minute-plus “A Generation of Digital Drones vs. Jazzbot 6000,” which devolves from its initial song plot into a seven-minute cacophony of improvisational guitar and bass pedal effect distortion sure to send fragile psyches teetering off the deep end. Recorded by Dennis Warner at Ground Control Studio and produced by the band with Mike Clement, Tales from the Southland… captures the dynamic of early 70’s-era psychedelic heavy metal, sounding full but staying out of the mud and retaining a clear, sharp edge. Satanic Bat unleashes a head trip of an album with Tales from the Southland…Tales from the Sea, breathing new life into this brand of classic-flavored heavy rock while offering their own experimental and often fascinating slant to it. (The CD can be purchased through the group's website, www.satanicbat.org.)