Kadavar ‘Abra Kadavar’ CD/LP/DD 2013

Kadavar 'Abra Kadavar'Kadavar are the soundtrack of my summer. I know that’s a bold statement to make when its only June, but on my first spin through Abra Kadavar I already knew there wasn’t going to be a better soundtrack to hanging out in the sun and putting away beers.

When I caught the band live a couple of weeks ago I’d spent the day doing just that, and their set was even tighter than their vests. I was anxious to see whether their recorded output would measure up to their live show, and this new album from those bearded boys from Berlin perfectly captures their high-energy 70’s-inspired hard rock.

Opening track ‘Come Back Life’ barely pulls its punches before leading into the kind of guitar line that you’ll swear you’ve heard on one of your dad’s dusty old mixtapes marked Cruisin’ Trax Vol IV alongside the likes of ‘Highway Star’. That unearthed-from-the-vaults vibe is masterfully recreated across the whole album, recorded live with minimal overdubs.

‘Doomsday Machine’ is a lot more upbeat than its title suggests, the rhythm bounding straight out the gate before slowing down to a head-nodding, beer-spilling bounce. Vocalist/guitarist Lupus Lindemann’s voice soars over the music effortlessly, his voice hitting the kind of high notes no-one has reached since Robert Plant.

‘Eye Of The Storm’ continues the Zep-worship by sneaking in a little ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’ melody in its chorus, and plenty of serpentine lead guitar closing out the song, before the bluesy guitar/vocal interplay of ‘Black Snake’ gives way to a simple, woozy, see-sawing guitar and splashy cymbal stomp.

You would swear that ‘Fire’ was a number taken straight from the Bobby Liebling school of songwriting, back when he reportedly wrote hundreds of songs in the early 70’s, so perfectly do Kadavar capture his knack for haunting melodies. Following on seamlessly, ‘Liquid Dream’ is total Deep Purple worship, complete with rhythm-driving organ stabs throughout and the kind of insane swirling solo that Jon Lord himself would be proud of.

The intro of ‘Rhythm For Endless Minds’ sails through endless skies before crashing down into a psychedelic purple haze, and the reverb-drenched vocals seeming to follow the vocal line from The Fifth Dimension’s ‘Aquarius’, while the guitars wildly oscillate in true Hawkwind fashion… wow, that’s a lot of references in one sentence. But that’s what Kadavar do, and rightfully unashamedly so; they provide a road sign guiding you to the best of 70’s rock, when musicianship mattered more than your distortion pedal, when the solo was king.

Closing instrumental freakout ‘Abra Kadabra’ harks back to this era, each of the members given their chance to shine; Drums are battered Bonham-style, strings are wrung to breaking point, and the whole jam sounds like it could collapse at any point, but never does it get indulgent or boring.

‘Abra Kadavar’ is a distillation of all the things that people return to those classic records for, and is a perfect reminder of just how damn GOOD rock music can be. Grow your hair, grab a drink, and drop out this summer with a copy of this album on constant rotation.

Available on vinyl, as it should be heard, from Nuclear Blast.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Website: www.facebook.com/KadavarOfficial

Scribed by: Ross McKendrick