A few months back I was perusing the Bandcamp site for some new tunes and came across Wizard Eye. I thought it sounded like a pretty cool name for a band so I decided to give them a listen. I was a bit confused because the release date of the album says that it was released 18 December 1974. I thought to myself, how could I have let this one slip through the cracks. If you are unfamiliar with Wizard Eye, which I'm sorry to say I was, here is a bit of a bio:
"Formed in late 2007, Wizard Eye comprises three like-minded brethren whose combined experience includes almost two decades of music performance ranging up and down the East Coast of the United States at countless venues ranging from New York City's finest showcase rooms to down-and-dirty basement parties in the kudzu fields of Raleigh, NC."
Ok, now on to the music...the album starts off with a spacey flange heavy intro piece titled "Orbital Rites: Phase 1" which leads into the ultra fuzzy riffs of "Say No More". The high hat sets the rythym and the toms blast away into a killer groove. The song then winds down to a slow and low tempo complete with cowbell and finishing off with some badass guitar licks. The strained whiskey soaked vocals are a perfect fit. Next track "C.O.C." has a nice flow and is very psychedelic with spaceship sounds and a thomp thomp bass line. The fast paced bass-driven "On the Banks of the River" is nice and sludgy. The almost entirely Doom-laden instrumental "Psychonaut" is up next, it features a pounding rythym and nice guitar harmonies. "The Dying Breath" is the longest track on the album clocking in at 7:21 and is slow and heavy. Groovy instrumental "Gravebreath" leads into the doomy southern rawk swagger of "In Defiance of Augury" featuring an almost Anselmo-like vocal.
Orbital Rites is an eclectic mix of fuzz, doom, southern rock, space and psychedelic. If I were to explain how the band sounds, I would sum it up as Down, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet and Molly Hatchet getting together for one badass jam party. Go now to the band's Bandcamp site to download the album for free!
Wow! That is some long hair.
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