"Waiting For The Flood" as a
title seems to address the anticipation amongst fans of Germany's
longer-standing Samsara Blues Experiment for the album and its four massive
songs, which have already been tried and tested at various occasions in concert
- and even if that had not been the case, you would know what to expect,
wouldn't you? Never on this record does the heavy psych quartet get to the
point faster than after ten minutes plus, and this suits them rather well, as
opposed to oh-so-many other groups that are a drag even in shorter formats.
The album starts off with 'Shringara',
which after some sitar-tinkling with iniating vocals (delivered with astounding
force by frontman Christian Peters) takes off with spacey synths while the
guitar stays upfront almost entirely throughout the track. Riff is king on
"Waiting For The Flood", yet not without some soulful soloing where
it's necessary. Samsara Blues Experiment have never been a band prone to much
redundancy within their compositions, which is just what makes 2011's
"Revelation And Mystery" still worth spinning on a regular basis - a
real feat considering the arbitrary mass of genre releases during the last
couple of years.
Peters, whose voice nicely reminds of
Pothead's hearty crooner Brad Dope, takes a step back from the mic during the
title track in order to work his strings more eagerly, but still manages to
establish hooks through his singing, not to forget the hefty emotions which he
gets across to the listener, the more mellow character of the track being just
the perfect medium for this. Goosebumps aside, "Waiting For The
Flood" also gives a nod or two towards the name of its creators, meaning
that "Don't Belong" puts the Blues on the boil, albeit in a less
obvious manner without your all too predictable chord progressions. Still, this
band is no prog-fare, and justly so.
Closer "Brahmin's
Lament" once again leans to the heavier side and casts a spotlight on
drummer Thomas Vedder as well. The Eastern tinge is already manifest in the
title, Peters intones in his most passionate way and thereby hands some very
memorable verses, which are likely to be recalled when it comes to choosing
what's been relevant for 2013 in terms of vintage hard rock at the end of the
year. Be sure you don't miss "Waiting For The Flood"; otherwise your
poll lists might be incomplete.
words by Andreas Schiffmann
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