November is Doom - Molasses : "Through the Hollow"

 This is in some ways a reunion of the Devils Blood , but with out Farida's brother, who would have been next to her the most crucial member of that band. There is less of a retro feel to their sound. It is more progressive and less jammy. She still has the pipes. Her bluesy alto lends it self to that 70s feel, but they are doing a good job on the first song of not getting tied into nostalgia. The are like their former band in the sense they do not give a fuck and will kick things off with an 11 minute song if they feel like it.  When I said less jammy I did not mean not jammy at all, as they do go into that direction by the 3rd songs, but it is pretty awesome when they do so I am fine with that . If you are going to jam then you got to bring the groove, and they do. 

 I do also like the darkness that infuses " Get Out From Under". I am not saying it's darker than the Devil's Blood as the darkness here is not as sinister perhaps leaning more in the Shocking Blue direction. Despite not going anywhere I like the Swans like drone to "Corpse of Mind" . We are back to a more occult rock groove on " the Maze of Stagnant Time" . The title sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons module. Much the Devils' Blood this band is not metal but influenced by it. There is a smooth and darker groove to "I am No Longer" . It is also the song that comes closest to their doom influenced roots. Yeah I suppose you can say both these guys and the Devil's Blood are proto doom. Truth be told both bands are closer than Pentagram. 

They even go further with groove on " Death is" . The bass player is working over time. This is not what you would expect even after making it midway into the album. This is how prog should sound. 'Tunnel" is more of an instrumental interlude than an actual song. They end the album with the ten minute 'the Devil Lives" . Good to go out on a positive note. They lyrics are great. There is more of a rock swagger. I will give this album a 9.5 . Not something I am going to listen to everyday, as it is often a lot to ingest, but I more than enjoyed what I have heard after given this album many listens. Was released on Season of Mist. 

R.I.P: Selim Lemouchi

We lost one of the best guitarists you might not have ever have the pleasure of hearing,  if you did not catch the Devil's Blood live. If you are a regular reader here then you should know what high regard I hold Selim. I got the chance to interview Selim, a few years ago when they were on the tour with Behemoth, Watain and In Solitude, it never made on here as the transcript got lost before I could transpose it , but he was a very frank and intense man who was very confident in what the Devil's Blood , I remember asking him  what was the response like playing to metal audiences at a Behemoth Show, when they are more of a rock n roll, band and he said " I care less what people, think, we do what we do because this is the music we make, we put it out there as a force and if a crowd likes it or no is of little interest to me."

Then they preceded to blow me away with a very jammy Pink Floyd like set that was much different than what they did on their albums. Having already  seen some of the greatest guitarists live Fripp, Page, Gilmore, Iommi, Prince, Malmsteen...it is easy for me to number him among them. It's a shame the progression of his talent was yet to come, I did read an Interview where he said in regards to the Devil's Blood's break up that he saw it like the Rolling Stones, what was the point of them making albums after "Some Girls" , so he seemed to think that projects high point had past, despite the "...And His Enemies" project still being in a similar sonic space to the Devil's Blood.  

It has been said he was shot, but not conclusive statements have been made of late as to the exact cause of death. However watching the video below it feels very much like the death of Jon Nodveidt  the singer of Dissection, who killed himself, for reasons which might best be seen as a self sacrifice for the completion of what they considered their great work.