Tuliterä: Tulikaste

Self-released (plug4)

This is the first full-length album by Helsinki based instrumental, psychedelic space metal band Tuliterä. Some of the tracks have been released before on the band's two EP's but these are new versions and edited down a bit. The line-up has gone through some changes since the band finished this CD: they have dropped the keyboard player and also have a new drummer making them tighter live than ever. Anyway, let's focus on the album here.

A new track "Percolator" starts off the album in a rather atmospheric mode with trance-inducing programmed stuff, space sounds and beautiful guitar. It does get heavier towards the end, though... A great intro that builds up the excitement! "Alpha Blade" must be one of the oldest TT tracks the band still plays live, and it sure makes the crowd wild every time! This piece really rocks through space and time and has rather progressive parts as well. "Jagat" is another track from the 2008 Alpha EP and it's also fast and energetic, but not that complex. This makes you bang your head! "Firedew" is a new track that begins in a tranquil, somehow Twin Peaks inspired mood, but soon they add the metal guitars and drums, and then things get more progressive and adventurous. There are some great melodies in this one, and in the end everything cools down again. "Cetus" is the shortest track on the album at only 2:41, but it's still long enough for the boys to create very cool mental spacecapes. Originally on the EP it was the first part of  the dreamy, psychedelic and mysterious"Voidborn", one of my favourite tracks that has Jaire from Octopus Syng on sitar to add a certain amount of mysticism and Eastern vibe. Some of this reminds me of the third and last album by Kingston Wall, so I'm in heaven... "Star Rodeo" is a fast, tight, furious and pretty short (4:18) heavy metal onslaught with some cool and fluent solo guitar work. "The All-seeing Delirium" (originally from Alpha EP) is the longest track at over 14 minutes and it's one of Tuliterä's master pieces if you ask me. The majestic melodies, powerful riffs, hypnotic electronics and pounding rhythms make you dizzy, and there's also plenty of spacey, ambient landscapes in the middle. Wow! "Menticide" begins in the Ozric Tentacles style but gets heavier and darker. Phew... The last minute or so is just weird effects. I'm really happy that the band succeeded in making this great sounding full-length after a bit of bad luck. They are on fire with the new line-up so support these great musicians and buy their album and go and see them live when you can! Their next gig is this Saturday at Galaktus Festival in Helsinki. Hopefully, Tulikaste will also be released on vinyl later on...

www.tulitera.net

New address again!

Psychotropic Zone has relocated again, so if you're thinking about sending me some music to review (physical copies HIGHLY preferred...), please contact me first to get the new address.

Thanks!

Dj Astro
psychotropiczone @ gmail.com

Cherry Choke: Raising the Waters

Elektrohasch Shallplatten (Elektrohasch 167)

This is the third album by Cherry Choke from the UK. Those who are familiar with the band and former groups of the leader Mathew Bethancourt (The Kings of Frog Island, Josiah, The Beginning) know exactly what they will get: great, psychedelic fuzz/stoner/garage rock with excellent song-writing and musicianship and a strong vintage rock vibe, not forgetting the occasional dark, occult themes. The three-piece recorded the album at Colour Haze's analogue studio in München, Germany, for a warm and fuzzy sound that fits the music perfectly.

The disc starts off with the very cool, mid-tempo track "Rage On". The backwards guitar in the very beginning brings to mind On Trial and Baby Woodrose and Lucifer is mentioned in the first line... A nice combination of acoustic guitar and heavy psych guitar licks. Mat's strong and soulful vocals again bring to mind the mighty Cream a bit... "Mindbreaker" is a fast and energetic fuzz rock hit that really works great. "Black Annis" offers some heavy blues stuff and also has some organ, while "Used to Call You Friend" is a bit more original, melodic and interesting. "Hypnotize Me" is just an acoustic reprise of the first track, but "Where the Sun Rises" is a dark and mysterious, instrumental psych trip also including sitar. "6ix and 7even" starts off with some moody, Deep Purple styled organ, and gradually start to rock out. This is the longest track on the album at 7:27 and also one of my favourites including some very groovy playing. "My Mind to Lose" is about loosing your mind and pretty heavy and dark stuff. The end-part somehow reminds me of Lynyrd Skynyrd? The last actual song is the melancholic acoustic track "Discarded Hearts", but after a little pause we get some weird experimental stuff (tape echo?) to get lost in... Another excellent album by Cherry Choke, check it out you stoners and lovers of the heavy fuzz guitar with great vocals!

www.facebook.com/cherrychoke

 

 

Jet Jaguar: Free Space / Billion Year Spree / Mysteries of Antimatter

Overlord Records (OLR 12/13/14)

Jet Jaguar, who took their name form the Godzilla movie, is a US based space rock band deeply inspired and influenced by science fiction, Hawkwind/Robert Calvert and Chrome/Helios Creed. With those obsessions and lots of imagination and talent of their own it's impossible to go wrong and I must say I really like this band! Free Space and Billion Year Spree are their first two albums originally released over ten years ago, and Mysteries of Antimatter is a brand-new one after a long hiatus or, in this case, deep-freeze might be a more suitable expression. All their albums have only been self-released on CD apart from Space Anthem, a collection of live tracks from 2004 and studio outtakes over a period from 2002 to 2004, that was also released on 2LP by Black Widow.

I have reviewed the first two albums when they originally were put out, so I won't go into detail now. Both Free Base and Billion Year Spree have been remastered and revisualized and sound a lot better than before. Track titles like "Brain Stun", "She's an Alien", "Beam Me to Mars", "The Scanner", "Future Martyr on Supersonic Waves", "The Last Kings of Space", & "Chrononaut" might give you a good insight of what's going on. The main themes are robotics, nuclear, holocaust, cloning, cryogenics, information overload, artificial intelligence as so on. There are heavy, energetic, acid punky, pounding and even catchy rock songs with lots of phaser & other effects as well as more ambient, synthesizer-driven pieces. The vocals are often heavily manipulated in the Chrome style. For some reason, two tracks from Free Base have been dropped, namely "Squids in the Matrix" and the Hawkwind cover "Orgone Accumulator", but there are still 12 songs left so no problem. The tracks have also been placed in a bit different order, but the main feel of the album is almost the same, I think. The track list on Billion Year Spree has been edited a bit as well, three songs have been left out and two new ones been added at the end (the short space ambient "Chrononaut" and an excellent cover of Hawkwind's "Lord of Light". Great stuff, get it now if you missed out in the first place! Also available as downloads.

Mysteries of Antimatter comes with a sexy space lady cover and includes 13 new tracks and a cover of "Superior Catholic Finger" by the mighty Helios Creed. The album was mastered by Alisa Coral (get well soon Alisa!), and sounds superb. The band just takes on where they left six or seven years ago without any problems. Their heavy, energetic, robotic and mind-expanding sound has remained pretty much the same, as well as the sci-fi themes in the songs like "Planet of the Vampires", "Rocket Boy Meets Saturn Girl", "Starlost", "Workin' in the Asteroid Mines", "Invasion Mutation" and "Destroy All Planets". The overal vibe is perhaps even closer to Helios Creed and Chrome than before, twisted, heavy, rocking, spacey and weird. I love it! The songs are pretty short as always, all in the range of 1:40 to 5:21. I really like all the tracks, but my favourites at the moment might be the tight and fast "Stingray Eyes", more Hawkwindish "Starlost", "Invasion Mutation" and the slow and creepy "The Negative Ones". Highly recommended for all fans of Chrome and Helios Creed and heavy, acid punky and experimental space rock in general!

www.facebook.com/jetjaguarrocksinspace

Papir meets Electric Moon: The Papermoon Sessions - Live at Roadburn 2014

Sulatron Records (st1501/st1501-2)

Last year's Roadburn Festival treated all the fans of psychedelic, instrumental, kraut/space/stoner rock oriented jam rock really well: not only did we get to hear a set by Sula Bassana (Germany) and TWO sets by Papir (Denmark), there was also a live set by The Papermoon Sessions, where Papir and two out of three members of Electric Moon (Sula and Lulu, 2/4 of Sula Bassana live band) joined forces with the added bonus of synth master Mogens from Øresund Space Collective at the Afterburner on Sunday! Needles to say, I was really looking forward to all these shows and enjoyed them very much. Papir, Electric Moon and Mogens had already had one jam session together in Copenhagen, which spawned the excellent studio album The Papermoon Sessions in 2013, and this was the second time they played together. Considering that, it's amazing how well they linked together, must have been telepathy in the ether! So, there were two guitarists (Sula also played some Casio and effects), two bass players (Lulu using more effects), the drummer of Papir and Mogens on synths. What a combination!

The album is comprised of two massive, over twenty-minute-long improvisational jams, that really blow your mind and take you to outer space. The first one is called "Powdered Stars" and that's a very suitable name I tell you... Nicklas from Papir plays more solo guitar and really flies high, while Sula mostly creates some heavy, fuzzed-out, psychy guitar layers. Lulu plays distorted, hypnotic and rather minimal bass lines like usual, which works great with Christian's more complex, cleaner bass. Christoffer is a superb, creative drummer and master Mogens takes care of the spacey synth sounds. Superb! "Blazing Milky Way" (another great track title) starts off with subtle, spacey and tranquil doodling, but grows gradually into amazing heights, and then cools down again during the last five or so minutes. Amazing stuff! The CD is already available for example from the Sulatron Records online shop, the limited vinyl version will be ready next month. Don't miss out on this one!

papirband.com

www.electricmoon.de

Oppression: Scars 1988-1990 out now on CD

Nothing psychedelic here (well, we did play Hawkwind's Sonic Attack as our intro tape live...), but there is a compilation CD called Scars 1988-1990 out now on Spanish Extreem Music by my very first band Oppression. The band started in late 1987 and I was the singer from the beginning until mid 1989 when I was replaced by another bloke.

The style was thrash/speed metal and got darker, heavier and more complex and progressive on the way.

Check this CD out at:

xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/scars-1988-1990

Here's our Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/OppressionFinland

You fan order a copy from me through Discogs:

www.discogs.com/seller/psychotropiczone/profile

Hot stuff at the moment

This is what I've been listening to lately:

Moon Duo: Shadow of the Sun LP + 7"
The Amazing: Picture You 2LP
The Bevis Frond: Inner Marshland 2LP reissue
The Myrrors: Arena Negra LP
Black Lizard: Solarize LP + CD
Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.: High on New Heaven Live in New Haven 3LP
V/A: The Reverb Conspiracy Volume Three 2LP
Eternal Tapestry: Wild Strawberries 2LP
Papir: Live at Roadburn 2LP + 10"
Tähtiportti: S/T LP