Beastwars – S/T – LP/DD 2012

Thee olde spirits of thee mightee Kyuss have travelled far since the Californian desert rock trailblazers called it a day back in 1995, spawning thousands of bands in the wake of their hazy, yet powerful riffs with vocals yearning for distant escape. New Zealand’s Beastwars, a highly promising and already critically acclaimed outfit from Wellington, combine these earnest guitar chords and haunting melodies with a more upright, in-your-face metallic sound and frontman Matt’s stirring and triumphant vocals on this, their debut full length distributed by both Destroy and Witch Hunter Records.

Before you’ve even brought this puppy home to bark its anthems from your vinyl deck, you need to spend a good 20 minutes just to let the frankly stunning gatefold artwork sink in. Nick Keller, who’s day job revolves more around the film world having had an artistic input into Avatar, The Hobbit and Narnia, has quite clearly poured his soul into two gigantic painted canvasses and pledged their allegiance to the gods of rock, care of Beastwars. It’s impossible not to be enchanted by the outside cover’s pyramids, demons, giant squid and masses of storm clouds amongst thousands of other sumptuous details, whilst the inside sleeve is just as incredible – a murky, misty forest scene at dusk with an enchanted river searing its midst. It’s not just a piece of jaw-dropping imagination; it’s some of the best album artwork you will ever see.

On to the gorgeous white marble-effect vinyl itself then, and Beastwars kick it off in good, hard, riffy fashion with ‘Damn the Sky’ – taking the tribal war-beats of High On Fire or Soulfly and the crunching yet melodic uproar well associated with classic stoner metal territory and marrying them as one goblet of solid rock. Matt’s vocals sit right in the centre of the mix, his heavily-bearded, gruff approach conjuring up the sound of Neil Fallon and Max Cavalera shooting the shit over a raging Viking campfire. ‘Lake of Fire’ and ‘Dagger’ flaunt more of a Soundgarden influence as the guitars settle into a gentle, slothian chug and Matt, although still bellowing, brings forward a deeper tone from the back of his throat as the rhythm section of James (bass) and Nato (drums) pound out a beat steadier than the All Blacks’ back-row.

The hard-rock feast has now become a slow-burning furnace of bass-trawling riffage. ‘Call Out The Dead’ and ‘Red God’ sweat with the intensity of a new born star as the grooves smoulder like a burnt-out plane fuselage. ‘Midi’ displays the most obvious debts to Kyuss with a spacey, distorted solo lead riff and a John Garcia-esque wail from Matt behind the mic. ‘Iron Wolf’ slows the pace; you can hear the tumbleweeds blow across the plains as guitarist Clayton strums you back into 1930s depression-era Americana, before lifting you from the dirge with a sandstorm of rolling thunder. ‘Cthulhu’ is slower still, Matt now drunk from the whiskey-soaked fumes of the back of his own throat as his rhythm section nobly support him through an epic tale of the sea. But Beastwars have saved the best riff for last as ‘Empire’ drives through your ear canals like a runaway dune-buggy. Clayton sets the ignition on his guitar’s bid to enter a clouded winter orbit as Matt reigns his gnarled croak over the glorious mix one last time.

Any band who get a beer named after them in their homeland have to be worth their salt and, as the Hallertau Brewery’s ‘Beastwars IPA’ testifies, this is tasty stuff. Beastwars don’t innovate or surprise with what they produce, but nor do they try to and this record, which debuted in the NZ charts at an impressive #15, is a great opening stamp on their career. As much as I’d love to wall-mount this gatefold package just for Keller’s unbelievable craft with the paintbrush, I think I’ll keep it in the record-rack as a firm reminder that the sunny sound of the desert will never set.

Label: Destroy Records / Witch Hunter Records
Website: http://beastwars.bandcamp.com

Scribed by: Pete Green