Rating: 7/10
Rome’s Killer Boogie are the latest in a sequence of Italian bands bringing out great albums and thrusting their way unashamedly to prominence. Comprised of Gabriele Fiori (guitars, vocals), Luigi Costanzo (drums) and Nicola Cosentino (bass) they released their latest album Acid Cream this month of Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
The band are well versed in ’70s riff making; a new machine in the retro ’n’ roll scene adept at mixing bluesy frequencies into an extremely fuzzy sound with psychedelic shades. Their debut album Detroit in early 2015 received a lot of attention from the worlds media and resulted in the band playing at Desert Fest Berlin and Duna Jam.
Acid Cream opens with ‘Superpusher ‘69’ which is a short instrumental blast that clearly marks out the intentions of this LP, before moving into ‘Escape from Reality’ with its layers of fuzz, reverberation galore and a guitar sound that would make Mr Hendrix proud. ‘Atomic Race’ channels early Sabbath with its intoxicating repetitive riffs, detached vocals and empowered combinations which really need multiple listens to be appreciated. ‘Am I Daemon’ is a darker offering overall and leads perfectly into ‘Let The Birds Fly’ which sees the addition of an imposing organ sound to open before layered sound plays with delayed vocals, creating a haunting countenance.
‘Dino-sour’ with its clever use of language leads into ‘Brother In Time’, a heavily fuzz laden track with interceding lyrics which overall channel a classic Blues tone. ‘Mississippi’ offers an instrumental interlude creating soundscapes of its namesake before ‘The Black Widow’, a classic 70s rock title if ever there was one, takes hold with its guitar runs and penetrating beat. ‘The Day of the Melted Ice Cream’ and ‘I Wanna A Woman Like You’ conclude with their playful mood and catchy rhythms.
Although released under the psych moniker, to band this LP in with psych really does it a disservice and belittles its heavier tendencies. There is a complexity of sound present that lends its to psych listeners, and will undoubtedly appeal, however overall it is an offering of unadulterated heavy rock and roll.
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