You know that feeling you get when you’ve been longing
for something, so passionately, for such a length of time, that a fear creeps
into your conscious that it couldn’t possibly match your expectations? It’s a
feeling that’s sadly all too few and far between in appearances, but it’s one that
is to cherished. It’s fair to say that we here at Heavy Planet have been waiting
with baited breath for Memphis Tennessee’s The Heavy Eyes’ third record to drop,
the worry was whether it would meet expectations, but it didn’t, it exceeded
it!
2011’s self-titled record laid the foundations for The Heavy
Eyes on the heavy blues scene, adding elements of stoner rock into a hazy, riff
loaded album which hit us like a freight train. The follow up, 2012’s Maera
was an improvement still on the bands already solid foundations, keeping the
blues at the forefront of their playing. So where were they to go next? Three
years later and the band have found a heavier button than “loud” and used it
with a fuzz pedal to make gigantic noises. He Dreams of Lions is a record that
drips fuzzy blues riffs through every gap they can find around Tripp Shumake’s
greater defined and vibrant vocals, while still being as laid back as the
floor.
Opening track ‘Shadow Shaker’ lays the foundations for
the album, with pounding drums and heavy, hypnotic guitar riffs, and a driving
song structure, galloping the listener forward into a blues future that the
band are writing themselves. The song qualifies every genre bracket the band
are currently tearing open, showing the direction blues, fuzz, and hard rock
could well take. By the time second track ‘Saint’ kicks in to immediate flow,
the record has your entire attention as you thrash your head and mosh with
yourself over the top of the frenetic riffs and heavy-ass percussion section.
The band have a fantastic ability to write a song, with
hooks that’ll make you wet and want to hear all day long (seriously, the riffs
are killer). Each song is a well thought-out construction: ‘Old Satlilo Road’
is a layered fuzz fest encouraging you to blast along, ‘He Dreams of Lions’ is a
surf rock cum fuzzed stoner pop song, and it’s great to see the band giving it
everything they’ve got. ‘Smoke Signals’ shows off the excitement that comes
with following the band in all genre formats, and it’s a song which is going to win
over many people unfamiliar with the sound.
By the time the record closes with the (yes you’ve guessed
it)fuzz heavy blues of the slightly downtuned 'Modern Shells', you realise that
you’ve been on a journey with the band, over the course of three albums, a
sound which has become louder and more defined for a band who don’t just write
great songs, but execute them musically to perfection, and it has led us to He
Dreams of Lions, a record which is almost perfect with what it intends to do;
rock your balls off! This is a superb album which needs to be in your
collection alongside every other quality stoner/fuzz/blues record you cherish.
