Album Review: Pesta - Bring Out Your Dead

Black Sabbath is an absolute standard bearer for much of what we love in heavy metal, whether it be stoner, doom, sludge, or other darker dives into low tuned musical underworlds. Fans of Black Sabbath, therefore, might find the latest release by Belo Horizante, Brazil's Pesta an absolute rush of addictive melody, riff, and distortion. Pesta do not rip off Sabbath, but instead channel much of those dark metal arts laid down long ago through their own abilities and tendencies, which are superb in delivering well developed, expertly executed tracks of a near genius blend of doom and stoner rock.

The members of Pesta are:

Anderson Vaca - bass
Thiago Cruz - vocals
Daniel Roca - guitar
Marcos Resende - guitar
Flavio Freitas - drums

The album opens with a kick to the head on "Black Death", announcing early that darkness and heft are the linchpins of their sound. Guitars and bass boom ponderously, unflinchingly through clutching muck and dark mire, leading up to more energetic riffs of pure bliss that are overwoven soon enough by Cruz' penetrating, robust vocals. "Words of a Madman" combine slogging doom hammer blows with a sing-song melody that is as ferocious as it is joyous. Next up, an ode to their totem inspirations via a beautifully rendered bass solo from Vaca with "The Butler Did It", which leads quickly into what is now the established deep richness of Pesta's renderings on this 8 track release with "Intimate". Tempo and spice are kicked up a notch on the freewheeling "March of Death", perhaps the album's best track. "The End is Near" is a beautifully rendered instrumental segue, while a return to form in "The 4th Horseman" and the longer, seven-minute trek of "Possession" round out this sophomore effort from these South America virtuosi with the surprising gifts of offering up a fresh take on the time-honored, and often sought sound of one of Metal's alltime greats.

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Split LP Review: Fuzzonaut by Vinnum Sabbathi & Bar de Monjas

Two fuzz heavy bands have just released a split LP that will soundtrack your summer! Mexican bands Vinnum Sabbathi and Bar de Monjas have created the perfect type of split record, with two very different styles, influences, and musicianship, and merged them together in perfect harmony.

Vinnum Sabbathi take their turn first with three songs of doom heavy droning fuzz, shattering the speakers, with spoken NASA samples scattered over the top in place of singing, and it works to a devastating effect, creating an apocalyptic fuzz that at times can be bleak, but ultimately powers through with messages of strength and anger. The bass fuzz pedals are firmly to the floor throughout ‘Hex I: The Mastery’ and ‘Hex II: Foundation’ as the elongated heavy riffs pound away one brutal hit at a time.

Last years In Fuzz We Trust was a personal highlight of mine, so a little expectation accompanied the listening of Bar de Monjas’ side of the Fuzzonaut split, and there’s not an ounce of disappointment to be found as the Mexican duo set their fuzz game off with aplomb as ‘Hot Rail’ stands as a statement of intent as the instrumental track changes pace from pounding stoner to break neck heavy rock, all the while bathed in the band’s love of the fuzz pedal. Whereas Vinnum Sabbathi draw out their songs to become fuzz droning epics, Bar de Monjas are straight to the point; they’ve come to party. ‘The Ripper’ is a balls to the wall assault of fuzzy garage riffs that works as well in a mosh pit as it does with the casual foot tap, while 'Fuzzonaut' shows the layers of the band, slowing down the energetic pace to concentrating on droning heavy licks that show a band playing with their audience.

Fuzzonaut shows the best of both bands, both of whom are ready to explode out of the South American scene and onto a much bigger stage. The world deserves Vinnum Sabbathi and Bar de Monjas, and you deserve Fuzzonaut!

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New Band To Burn One To: Bagual

After listening to so many imitators, near misses, and heard-it-all-beforers, finally, FINALLY, this year has delivered some stoner worthy of the name. Hitting the desert scene with a mighty fresh slab of heavy fuzzy riffs comes Santiago’s finest: Bagual.

Having only formed in 2012, the Chileans have recently released their stomping debut record I: Viento Sur, layered with thick, heavy hooks of pure stoner heaven, all the while under pinned by a slight metal back drop.

Whether it’s the headbanging-dancability of a track such as ‘Matta’ or the frenetically pummelling riffs of opener ‘El ojo de Dios’, there is something on here for every Kyuss/Orange Goblin die hard out there, who isn’t afraid to face (perhaps) foreign vocals, and simply get lost in the power of the riffs.

Bagual are going to be a band to keep an eye out for in the near future, and a continued torch bearer for the ever increasingly impressive stoner scene emanating from South America.

(As a side note, just look at that artwork, It’s a four-eyed bull soaring over mountain tops, like a mythical god about to pound your face: an apt representation of Bagual it must be said)

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