Reviewed By Andy “Dinger Beresky”
Hydro-Phonic Records
Release Date December 14th, 2010
Every once in awhile, there comes a band that blends disparate influences and elements so seamlessly, organically and effectively that their arrival signals a paradigm shift in the world of underground music.
Sure, neo-psychedelic acts like Naam and La Otracina have successfully incorporated extreme metal influences on their latest releases, and Boris has long been able to bridge the void between indie psych and heavy doom, but none of them have nailed it like Blue Aside do on their debut EP, the first in a series of conceptual pieces from this self-described “concept band.”
You see, Blue Aside take the idea of the concept album one step further, opting to extend their concept to every aspect of the band’s lyrical and musical content. The Orange Tree is the first in a series of voyages into their bizarre and surreal science fiction world, where the workers of Earth must live and toil underground as moles, while the rich upper class are protected by a mythical “orange tree” from the Sun’s fatal and ever-present radiation. Whether this is some sort of clever allegory to our current social and political climate, I leave that up to the listener, but it’s an intriguing concept that Blue Aside manages to carry out for the entirety of their five song debut, and they intend to make this ongoing saga the centerpiece of their future releases as well.
The songs themselves are well constructed, starting with the aptly titled “Traveler of Time And Space”, with its layered guitar sound and sharp contrast in vocal styles. After the swirling psychedelia of the guitars gives way to heavy doom crashes, the vocals mix a tripped out death metal grunt with an evil spoken word approach, before launching into the higher registers that bands like Yob have successfully melded with a powerful low end. The difference here is that Adam Abram’s nasally vocals are more reminiscent of a doomed out Syd Barrett than Geddy Lee. “Traveler” serves well as an opening track, and leads right into “Otis Sun”, the album’s standout track in my opinion. This song just has everything in it that Blue Aside do well, the harmonized, heavily effected guitar parts, the doom riffs that would make Saint Vitus proud, and the zonked out soloing that brings to mind Dave Chandler, J Mascis, Syd Barrett era Floyd, and even heavy nods to Hendrix. The vocals once again alternate between the high haunting clean vocals, and the ethereal death grunts. The verse progression is classic Floyd, but the chorus riff is classic Vitus, and once again they make this dichotomy work to their advantage.
“Orange Eyes” takes a different turn with a more straight forward approach to rhythm and melody, and a different vocal style than seen on the previous two tracks, thanks to drummer Matt Netto. It’s perhaps the most straight forward of the five tracks, but clocking in at over nine minutes, there are enough twists and turns to keep things interesting, along with another catchy chorus and a full on finale that mixes heavy Sabbath riffs with haunting melodies. “Black Rays” is the most upbeat track, and also one of the most angular, with various rhythmic stops and changes, some odd time signatures, and the mixture of a more uptempo metallic chug along with the doom lumberings. The final track of the album, “The Inevitable Journey”, is another longer number at seven and a half minutes, and it once again covers a lot of ground. Starting off heavy and downtuned like many of their other numbers, the ending finds Blue Aside exploring a more heavy shoegaze influenced universe, along the lines of something Boris could pull off, but the backing vocal arrangements remind me a bit of Soundgarden as well.
Unrelentingly progressive, Blue Aside are obviously a product of their varied influences, but tread their own unique path through the musical legacy that the past 45 years have left us with. It’s a path that’s worth exploring, and the band is definitely a trio of musical journeymen if nothing else. Each song is a trip in itself, into the mythos and worlds that they’ve created for themselves, beside The Orange Tree. Highly recommended for fans of both the doom and indie psych spectrums, fans of Naam, Yob, Dead Meadow, Sons of Otis, Quest For Fire, and Boris, take note and pick this one up. Rumor is they’re working on a full length, and if it captures any of the vast potential shown here, it’s going to be highly anticipated after such a momentous debut.
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