From the fuzzy guitars and the distorted, feedback-esque noises of ‘Pessimist’ you know what you are going to get from Deathchant. This Los Angeles based four-piece have just released their self-titled debut album (King Volume Records) and it does indeed deal in Psychedelic Rock with a heavy Stoner vibe, supplemented by the occasional flirtation with Metal – not too dissimilar from North Carolina’s ASG.

At seven tracks, and coming in at under thirty minutes, this feedback heavy, psychedelic Hard Rock certainly does not out stay its welcome. The last three tracks sees the record at its best; fast, lively and succinct. ‘Eulogy’, a calming instrumental interlude with melodious guitar work, acts as a palette cleanser leaving you to enjoy sprightly moments like ‘Breathe’ – a bouncy number with a nice hummable riff. ‘Hex’ is of a similar ilk, a three to four-minute rocker with a foot tapping drumbeat and some tasty guitar work, the similarly sharp ‘Trigger ends this upbeat trio with mystic sounding chanting reminiscent of Mooner Tabiat. It is just a shame you cannot make out the lyrics as TJ Lemieux’s vocals are quite muffled and unclear, detracting from what are otherwise good tracks.

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The first half of the record is more varied, the attention grabbing ‘Control’ starts out as lively rock n roller but gets transformed into doom-laden Metal after some distorted feedback midway. This fusion of differing elements is also apparent in ‘Ritual’, opening in a raucous Stoner Metal fashion it soon morphs into a mid-paced and tuneful instrumental which fades out to bizarre chanting, like in the aforementioned album closer ‘Trigger’.

Drenched in feedback, awash with fuzzy guitars and toeing the ever shifting line between Hard Rock and Metal, Deathchant’s eponymous debut is a decent – if slightly muddy, vocal wise – opening gambit from this up and coming psychedelic four piece.

6 / 10

THOMAS THROWER