ALBUM REVIEW: Father Light – Stoned Jesus
Veterans of the Ukrainian rock scene, STONED JESUS are famed for delivering big, fuzzed-out riffs, driving basslines and mountain-shifting grooves. Never ones to repeat themselves, the band have been constantly shifting their sound with each release since their formation in 2009. Despite all the carnage and destruction happening around them, STONED JESUS have stood defiantly and their new album Father Light sees the band in full bloom. Ornate guitar parts and the gentle vocal melodies of Igor Sydorenko (vocals/guitar) are accompanied by the powerful bass prowess of Sergii Sliusar and the hypnotising prog grooves of drummer Dmytro Zinchenko, once again cementing their position at the top of the Ukrainian and global stoner rock scene.
STONED JESUS have never been a band to sit still and stagnate with their music; while the core aspects of their sound are prevalent, the band always offer up some strange and exciting new experimentation that catches you completely off guard. Father Light’s 11-minute musical odyssey Season Of The Witch will attest to that. The band effortlessly traverse the stoner, doom and sludge spectrum whilst retaining their unique prog rock sensibilities, and the result is an intoxicating, eclectic mix of fuzzy riffs, intriguing soundscapes, trippy psychedelia and constantly shifting grooves. With this in mind, Father Light stands out as STONED JESUS’ most mystifying album to date.
Delving deeper into the strange and colourful world of psychedelia, there is a fresh explosion of colour and experimentation on Father Light that hasn’t previously been heard on a STONED JESUS record. This has allowed the band’s progressive rock side to bloom beautifully throughout the album, as masterful shifts in groove and dynamics create a vivid listening experience. The delightfully pleasant ebbing and flowing between big, fuzzy stoner riffs and subtle, delicate atmospheric melodies feels as natural as breathing. They are perfectly balanced compositions that have an underlying, indescribable and subtle intensity. With the band’s early influences such as BLACK SABBATH, ELECTRIC WIZARD, LED ZEPPELIN and SLEEP sparingly sprinkled throughout Father Light, the album is slightly softer sounding but more technical than the band’s previous work, and surprisingly has the same level of impact. This a testament to the band’s finely seasoned songwriting ability.
Sydorenko’s vocals sound reinvigorated with a fresh passion; his soft melodies guide you through the hypnotic songs. In some areas, Father Light has quite a sombre tone; in the case of Thoughts And Prayers it feels more like a lament for the modern age and the lack of human connection. It could be interpreted as a culmination of all that has happened over the last three years without overtly stating it in the lyrics. In a more subtle, poetic and nuanced way STONED JESUS have channelled the misfortunes that have befallen them by building captivating and emotive songs that conjure up PINK FLOYD-esque moments of deep reflection. These elements reaffirm the aforementioned point that this is STONED JESUS‘ most mystifying album to date.
Opening up with the acoustic and peaceful title track Father Light, already your preconceived expectations for the album are thrown out the window as it doesn’t build into a hard-hitting riff or psychedelic jam. The background bird song offers a moment of tranquillity before the song fades into the album’s magnum opus Season Of The Witch. The 11-minute epic starts as a doom masterclass, before transitioning into a BLACK SABBATH-style blues jam, then into a mystical LED ZEPPELIN-style ballad. Once these sections are complete it erupts triumphantly back into a doom anthem. It’s easily the stand out song on the album as it takes you on a musical rollercoaster.
The proggy ballad Thoughts And Prayers follows and becomes the emotional heart of the record, with a constantly shifting riff and poignant lyrics. Porcelain fuses the best bits of prog doom and psychedelia; hard-hitting riffs are augmented by vocal melodies that reverberate off of the walls and spin around your skull. CON is a wonderfully bizarre moment on the album, as the song seemingly builds around you with vocal harmonies, riffs and lead guitar parts chaotically flying all over the place. It’s a curveball change of pace that channels some of the old school late 1960s/early 1970s approach to harmonies. Closing the album is Get What You Deserve, which is nothing short of a trippy exploration through progressive psychedelic doom. Effortless transitions into sombre psych bits and thunderous doom sections make this a brilliant song to round off an ambitious album.
On Father Light, STONED JESUS have once again demonstrated why their ceaseless appetite for constant evolution will never be fully satiated. Father Light is constantly in motion, it never rests for one moment, always seeking to capitalise on an opportunity for evolution. With plenty of curveballs and surprises, Father Light is certainly a memorable album.
Rating: 7/10
Father Light is set for release on March 3rd via Season Of Mist.
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