Mortal Fools
Disastroid
•
March 12, 2020
3 men and a machine heavy rockers DISASTROID (2013) pound the sonic anvil in San Francisco, California USA, in the zone known as Gawd's Green Acre of Heavy Psychedelic Sound - north of LA and south of Seattle. What a heavy scene. What a city. What an expensive zip code for a musician. "8hr Parking" calls up the KYUSS and GODSMACK hotline and reports with the 100 hertz gonads of Travis Williams riffin' and raffin' all over 'MORTAL FOOLS' . On this first song (and only on this first song) Enver reminds me of John Garcia although more in melody and phrasing choices than timbre.
"Hopeless" grooves into the DISASTROID genus, that of sounding a lot like ALICE IN CHAINS mood altering opera. Enver does the William DuVall - Layne Staley down-in-a-hole vocal boogie - yea, he reminds me of both of the AIC lead voxers, while delivering shooting star scrambled guitar riffs that radiate and smolder - impressive and this cat has a ton of talent. On "Mortal Fools" these lads show their 90's Seattle Sound disciple stripes and with it's sweet smoke verses and choruses, "Mortal Fools" would be my pick for the feel good "hit single".
"Reset" is the big rawker on 'MORTAL FOOLS' and along with track # 4 "Crewser"shows some contrast - some - on this release with the guitar scaling back from the regular flaming resin trebuchet sieges for a few moments while Enver glazes his vocals ala the full Al Jourgensen in places - if we were at Roberto's in Vegas, this would be my first reach at the 'MORTAL FOOLS' salsa buffet. Aaahhh.... Roberto's. "Bilge" continues the sludgy saturated Seattle Sound slickness while My Sweet Lawd, "Deep Well" digs deep down and approaches tenderness with a creeper coda before "Space Rodent" chews us up right proper for the finale, cutting the cheese and letting loose with popping avant-garde anti-lyrical guitar lines that confound, all the while being propped up with a boiling jerky hepcat refrain.
'MORTAL FOOLS' is a bass instrumentalist's dream that allows Travis to get his bad self one ballsy bass mix and remain front, center and everywhere all at the same time. Enver sounds exceptional, like Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley in the very same fuselage. Great voice, great singing, great guitar playing. Braden keeps time admirably, throwing in groove flourishes to back up Travis in the 5-string netherworld. The 'deep end' is the defining sonic of 'MORTAL FOOLS'; the songs sound delicious and driving, substantial and aggressive. These cats belly up to a dialed back and honeyed version of post-metaloids SEASON TO RISK (themselves a post metal brother of JESUS LIZARD), and that is some damn great sonic company to keep. Musical dynamics don't vary much unless your idear of dynamics is full hard-on and "now you've gone and kicked me in the kernels" full hard-on. Nobody here is on a mule drive to new musical territory but dats cool, I don't need that trip every time I put on the dani bandolier mid-fi. I'll bet a lid of peanut butter that these guys roar and burn the stage down live. Now just where is the bloody Robot?
All joy wanteth the eternity of all things, it wanteth honey, it wanteth drunken midnite, it wanteth my Spotify playlist which includeth my reviewed bands!
9 / 10
Almost Perfect
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Mortal Fools" Track-listing:
1. 8hr Parking
2. Hopeless
3. Mortal Fools
4. The Crewser
5. Reset
6. Bilge
7. Insect Mind
8. Deep Well
9. Space Rodent
Disastroid Lineup:
Enver Koneya - Guitar/Vocals
Travis Williams - Bass
Braden McGaw -Drums
Robot - Horrible Crying
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