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The Cult of Dom Keller – The Second Bardo LP review

CoKD_SecondBardo
The Cult of Dom Keller on twitter; Cardinal Fuzz on twitter
The Cult Of Dom Keller were formed in 2008 and this is their second LP.  It was released on 3rd March 2014 to coincide with their appearance at the heaviest and doomiest of all festivals –  Roadburn.  And it sold out on pre-orders. The good news is you don’t have too long to wait, a repress is due on 23rd June on Cardinal Fuzz (CFUL015) although I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it happened again. It is available from Cardinal Fuzz online shop 

The Cult of Dom Keller are described as ‘redefining the psychedelic band template’ and that is a good description. You can hear modern influences as diverse as ‘Seattle’ for want of a better term and indie guitar type sounds as well as a more traditional rock / blues influence too. But in a way, that sort of description kind of misses the point. Because the Cult of Dom Keller don’t need those limiting descriptions. They are a band who play with intensity and passion, creating great riffs and great grooves using killer guitar tones. And not just one, lots. There is often a contrast between the groove and intensity of the guitar parts which works really well, especially as they a modern sounding band yet still present a wide range of diverse influences in their sound.

 

Plague of All
This is a great opening track. It opens with a guitar riff which has somewhat of a western twang to it before the drums and very growly bass kick in. The vocals have a haunting sort of disembodied feel to them. It maintains a great groove throughout and returns to the riff to release built tension very nicely.

 

The Snake Keeps Changing
This track has a more laidback groove with killer guitar tone on the opening riff that provides a real intensity against the groove. Tension builds and releases through the track really well between riffs and solo parts.

Dead Seas
Another great vibe to this track, again tension builds and releases really well.

Into the Sky Volcano – Beyond Burning Skies
This track opens with some different almost ethnic sounds and with the vocals has a sort of eastern feel which gives way to a really intense riff. This track has an ethereal, dreamlike feel but the heavily distorted guitar tone and riffing give it a driving edge.

Heavy and Dead (demo version)
Starts with some great reverb on the drums followed by ethereal vocals which again give a dreamlike feel whilst the song is pushed along by very distorted guitar riffing.

Godshaker
This track raises the tempo and intensity somewhat. It has a great vibe and feel to it with a fairly simple riff and well created solo parts. It manages to suggest a wide range of influences from the 60s and 70s yet still sounds like a current track.

Ghost Bones
Great opening solo part, different again but still killer tone. Vocals again sound disembodied, great use of organ sounds.

The Second Bardo
Again opens with a great riff, building intensity through the track really well before releasing.

Killed in My Sleep
Track has a ‘twangy’ opening riff which suits it really well. Another track which has a laidback groove offset against distorted and intense guitar parts.

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