Phased - "Medications"
(Elektrohasch Records 2006, 115)
Phased - "Medications"
(Elektrohasch Records 2006, 115)
From Aural Innovations #35 (January 2007)
This trio from Basel are back with their follow up to the really cool, now stoner rock classic, Music for Gentlemen. It has been a few years but the band is back with a set of really great songs. 10 songs about the use and side effects of mind altering substances. The CD opens with the monster Worship the Sun. This has a crushingly heavy riff and gets totally spaced out at the end. Phew. Nihil Hayride has another very heavy riff and I love the vocal delivery, which reminds me of someone but I just can't place it. Quite a few of the Phased tracks take you off into the unknown. Seems like a standard heavy riff rock song but then the band freaks out, takes the songs into the unknown and back. I love that. Reminder is an upbeat punky track and Chris lays down a wicked solo in the 2 minutes. Frozen Buds has a killer phased out guitar and is a really spacey track and has a tuned down killer middle section with a cool sample before the track pulverizes again. The Harsh Chapel Experiment is one of my favourite tracks on the CD. I just like the groove and the way the lyrics are delivered with the flow of the riff. It just grabs me. Sausage Tricks slows things down and has great funny lyrics and this track really takes off and gets spaced and features some great bass playing as well. Traces has a really catchy guitar riff and a spaced out solo in the middle. Back in Time is another sort of punky short rocker. Solitary Animal is one of the more spaced out tracks and very cool. Gets into your head in that middle section like Helios Creed. The CD ends with Nude Interlude from Hell, with 9 minutes of heavy spaced out psych rock. Elektrohasch picks another winner. Stoner doom psych rock. Get it quick before all the other freaks.
For more information you can visit the Phased web site at: http://www.phased.ch.
Visit the Elektrohasch Records web site at: http://www.elektrohasch.de.
Reviewed by Scott Heller