Thursday, July 21, 2016

Salem's Pot : " Pronounce This!"






It was their name which made this band from Sweden seem like a joke to me. Their name turns out to be misleading as it is not bong headed stoner rock, but psychedelic with a great deal of depth to it. The album dips into a darker and more cerebral mood than the more rocking boogie of "Just For Kicks" , which takes them in more of a Pentagram direction. Lyrically they are not pondering the bong water, but very cynically looking at the big picture and problems in the world. Though this does come from an occult garnished filter. The doomy sections sound more like something Alice Cooper would do. I can appreciate these guys ability to jam, but on albums I want to hear more song and then get the jam live. I am sure it would transition well live.There is no question these guys worship at the altar of the rock gods and have taken much inspiration.

 They drop back into a country tinged ballad that sounds like something Neil Young would do.Not something to take as seriously as if King Dude did something similar. There is darker tone to the 9 minute desire that closes the album. This might appeal to fans of Ghost, though it certainly had more balls than what Ghost has been doing the past couple of albums. They do not have the pop slickness and more of a fiendish late 60's Coven like sound. The vocals have desperation to them, but don't fall over the guitar as well as they did on the first song.

I'll give them an 8 which seems to be the score I give albums that just fall short of being something I need to have on my iPod. There is not really any faults, but some of the jamming could have been better spent solidifying the songs. These guys are not the joke they make themselves out to be and a band that is now firmly on my radar.
 

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