"Psychosis Ritual" is the new release from MOUNTAIN TAMER (2011) a swell music group from Los Angeles in the State of Fyre and Damnation, Kalifornia USA. MOUNTAIN TAMER takes the expansive vision of psychedelia and pares it down through the brooding and focused lens of doom and stoner rock, says them. Guitarist/vocalist Andrew Hall, drummer Casey Garcia and bassist Dave Teget formed their fusion of heavy psych rock in 2011 just outside of San Francisco. Now based in Los Angeles, MOUNTAIN TAMER's following is built on their DIY ethics and in your face live performances. After self-releasing several demos, the band released their debut album in 2016 on Argonauta Records. MOUNTAIN TAMER toured heavily following the release, playing with notable acts along the way such as FATSO JETSON, WEEDEATER and DEAD MEADOW. In 2018, MOUNTAIN TAMER teamed with Magnetic Eye and Nasoni Records to release their sophomore album "Godfortune/Dark Matters".

I'm not in control ... 'Psychosis Ritual' comes in with delayed wah? wha? guitar lines thick like pastel de yuca and spreads a raw lumper on the palate, urging the song down the gullet before it gets stuck in your throat. This is one gooey groove, mates, a gooey asphalt groove that stays steamroller flat. The scorching harmonics and trampled-by-doom guitar tones of 'Warlock' sets up Andrew Hall for his Perry Farrell soul-shouter reverb and delay soaked vocals over a strangled string riff. The difference here is that when JANES'S ADDICTION opened the gates to the reverb wash, they left a lot of space for Perry Farrell to do his thang, a thang that didn't compete-repeat with the galena spree atomized by Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins ... I'm a war machine ... 'Turoc Maximus Antonis' flags over a bloated lyric and riff to nowhere.

Burn it to the ground ... Vocals howl tubular drainpipe, the guitars wail 9 on the wail-o-meter and the beat goes on in 'Scorched Earth' that traps a 'Like Rats' vibe and manages a GODFLESH meets MINISTRY love song ... It's OK to be a friend ... 'Death in the Woods' is the single and mostly hits the bullseye leaving enough air for the lyrics to levitate above the leaden hypnotic riffing and at 3:42, the song isn't long enough to get thinned out on the panned delay efx. 'Black Noise' ends the brown acid trip. This song would work better if the cards played here weren't already dealt face up in the previous songs ... there is no surprise or variation on tap. At the 5 minute mark we get the peanut butter shrieks and complementary jelly oohs and ahhs stuffed into white bread metal crust.

Andrew Hall is obviously influenced by Perry Farrell and he gets there, although without the restraint or light melodicism Perry easily employed. Too much of a good thing is ... too much - to be fair the dude is doing the heavy lifting of all guitar, vocals and his songwriting, songsmith which is credited to the whole band. Somebody listened to 'Nothing's Shocking' till their eardrums collapsed and avoided the finer points of what JANE'S ADDICTION was doing, like avoiding played-out heavy metal octave guitar riffs in favor of tripping the light fantastic. Fair enough - dem MOUNTAIN TAMER lads are going for something heavier and particularly less dynamic on "Psychosis Ritual". Have a listen and see what you think.

Dani Bandolier's Spotify list...behind the doors of perception...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/272H3UBARsuksY3BqU0CzP?si=BEz42Yf8QT2nBI5FF8bF4g