Residing in North Carolina, USA, CRYSTAL SPIDERS announced their arrival into the music world with debut effort "Molt". The fusion of psychedelic melody and doom laden riffs won the hearts of critics and musos alike. "Morieris" is their eagerly awaited follow up, and promises to deliver more of the same. This time, acclaimed musician and producer Mike Dean (CORROSION OF CONFORMITY) joins the lineup, assuming guitar duties. The band seem to have friends in high places!

The album is fused with solid groovy bass lines, written with the soul purpose of being infuriatingly catchy before penetrating deep into your subconscious! This is most prominent in the opening track  "Morieris", and in "Septix". The band cite bands such as KYUSS as being a key influence. This is certainly evident during "Offering". Opening with a rather slow arpeggio style guitar riff overlaid with voice overs and other experimental effects, a short and sharp strike of the drums forces the energy and tempo to increase drastically! The next 3 minutes is a true rollercoaster of a ride, the guitars and bass locking in to create a wall of fuzz-laden ecstasy. I personally would love to see this in concert and can envision an audience going bananas for the duration.

Vocalist Brenna demonstrates a fantastic range. Whether it's the calming vocal style we hear in "En Media Res", or the soul inspired roars dripping with raw emotion from "Septix", the versatility is impressive. The band aren't afraid to mix things up with song lengths. "Pandora" opens with a simple few strikes of the cymbals and then our sense are assaulted with a 2 minute frenzy. It's hard to avoid tapping your foot along to the ridiculously catchy rhythm! By contrast, "En Media Res" is markedly slower and deliberate, engulfing you, the listener, in an 8 minute trance and washing over you in a psychedelic wave.

There's some gnarly guitar work on display, with Mike unleashing a scorcher of a solo in "Maelstrom". Quite a fitting name for a track such is the force of said solo! The doom elements are clear towards the end. "Maelstrom" ends with a freakishly low bass attack, one so heavy I'm sure it would measure on the Richter scale! No glitz or glamour. Just one solitary note rumbling out at sub-sonic frequency for time. More of that please! Equally, "Golden Paw" will capture the attention of doom diehards with some meaty riffs.

Overall, there's some instantly memorable hooks throughout the album which I'm sure will be, well, hooked into my brain for the next few days. The fusion of psychedelic, stoner and doom elements is admirable. However, I unfortunately have to turn my attention to the mixing of this album. I feel that Brenna's vocals are sometimes lost in the mix, and doesn't truly showcase her ability and talent. The low end rumble of the kick drum also goes missing in action, and whilst the bass is one of the strong suits for the band, it can be a little overpowering at times. The production value also feels gritty and less refined than it could be. None the less, these issues could be easily fixed and don't detract too much from what is a solid album.