Lesbian

Power Hor

(Holy Mountain)

Record Review by Marcel Feldmar

Alright. I am so unsure of what to think of this band, or how to take it. I’m not even sure if I like it or not, but I think I do. Sometimes. I think. First off – they are called Lesbian. Although, to be fair, as it mentions on the press release, names like “Venom” and “Pentagram” were already taken. Four guys based in Seattle wearing Metallica and Swarming Hordes t-shirts looking like they should be in a band called “Dark Blood Bath” giving us a four song CD that lasts for over an hour. The CD cover is full on stoner death metal art, and you feel like you have some idea about what’s going to hit your ears. The first song, the shortest one on the CD, clocking in at about 8:30 and titled “Black Forest Hamm,” does nothing to change your mind about this band. It’s a heavy metal sludge feast fest breaking over bassist Dorando Hodous’s unintelligible growls and groans that take the place of vocals that moves from down and dirgey to speed metal frantic.

And when I use the word “Heavy” in the heavy metal context, I mean like smashing your head into a wall of bricks while chained to a block of cement as huge amplifiers are dropped on to you from the top of a 10-story building heavy, and not like these guys have long hair kinda heavy. Then the whole thing suddenly does a flying shift into soft improv prog jam mellowness for a minute or so, and then crashes back into power chord thrash with evil undertones. Then we get to song number 2… just over 16 minutes this one is, and it takes you on a not so unpleasant journey through terrain that was totally untouched on the first song. Psychedelic jazz that bounces along until it hits some sorta slow Mogwai inspired dynamic space-out and builds into a riffing prog metal revival that leaves you sweating and confused. Then we just continue on – through the songs – exploring this new world of black jazz stoner death psych prog metal.