This is a new band hailing from Fresno, California that are
carrying the torch of the Doom Metal genre in the essence of Witchfinder
General, Black Sabbath, and Candlemass. They release their debut album on the
Rise Above Records label this year entitled Lusus
Naturae which translates to “A Freak of Nature.”
I love the art design of the album in which is done by
Branca Studio in which it’s an homage to the great Horror films of the late ‘60s
and early ‘70s in which it’s almost an homage to the Hammer films in the styles
of the booklet. The band considers Trevor William Church on Guitar and Lead
Vocals, John Michael Tucker on Bass, Andres Alejandro Saldate IV (Juan Bonham)
on Drums.
Trevor wrote the 12 compositions on here. And the music
itself is blaring, eruptive, and filled with intense riffs, stoner rock, and in
your face to see what Beastmaker will think of next. This is a must have for
Doom and Occult Rock fans and I love what is on here from right into the
beginning and in the very end. The trio know what they are doing and they are
pulling no punches with the homage to the ‘70s rock sounds.
Fierce and raw power comes into action with Eyes are Watching, The Strain, and Astral Corpse. Both of these tracks have
the intensity and energetic force. And Trevor’s voice resembles a young Ozzy
Osbourne and capturing the Sabbath and Doom genre torch and making sure it
doesn’t burn out. I can hear almost as if they were recorded between 1970 and
1973 from the Paranoid, Master of
Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
sessions.
The trio really head into town as they work as a team.
Loving those metallic bass lines that John Michael Tucker does. He carries the
fuzztone levels through the riffs which is shown on You Must Sin and the homage to Electric Wizard with the Arachne. Trevor carries the rhythm and
lead on here and both lending John and Andres a helping hand. Andres can take
the drums from the styles of Bill Ward and Jan Lindh (Candlemass) to various sections. From mellow grooves to haunting/ominous directions on his kit.
The mid-galloping twist of Skin Crawler, sends me goosebumps and I can imagine the touches of
Black Mountain’s In The Future-era in
there. Trevor and John go into town between Guitar and Bass playing the melody
together as if they were definitely writing scores for the Horror genre in the
styles of Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Terence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out.
This is my third time listening to Lusus Naturae. I was completely spellbound the moment I put the CD
on. There’s going to be a few more good releases coming out this year and some
competition to go with it. Beastmaker have landed on earth with a mighty punch
to send the Doom Metal sounds with a vital force! This is a recommended band
worth checking out. And I hope they will continue to see where the road will
lead them into.
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