Friday, September 18, 2015

Strapped But Not Clipped...

Sykopath Condor - Cell 36 (2015)


About a year and a half after the release of their first full-length, Sykopath Condor are back with another one, taking a 9-song trip into heavy rock.  While there's some metal edges provided by the rough bass and hard drums, and even a bit of dirty sludge on the pushes from time to time, it feels like heavy Southern rock is where most of their influence can be found (emulated pretty well for a band from the UK).  There's an unfortunate verging on nu-metal attitude popping up occasionally (if you listen close enough, you can hear them yell "Break it!" in "Rain"), but in their more groove-focused cuts, they hit on some fun grooves; like most of "Elfcrusher", for instance, which might be due to letting the vocals take a break so the instruments can build a full-sounding extension without having to speed it up to fit the yelling.  Or the similar situation in "Live in the Sun", which alternates cool break-downs with drawn-out bellows.
It's an uneven album, but the fun parts do out-weigh the sillier stuff, especially if you're in the mood for enjoying volume over paying attention to the lines.  And they've got a way with going whole hog when they tear loose on the riffs, a quality likely to please most Southern metal fans.  Whether it grows on your or pushes you away, give these guys a chance and get a real taste before judging.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Clutch, High On Fire, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Uncle Van & The Buzzards Of Fuzz




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