SOLAR MANTRA. The name says Psych Doom or Stoner. The album cover of their debut full-length album, "Away" (exquisitely crafted by Eli Quinn), reinforces that impression. And if that's your take, then you're pretty much spot on. SOLAR MANTRA formed in 2017 in Rome, Italy. They released a self-titled EP in 2018, and then established a new lineup in 2019. "Away" was released on September 3, 2021, through Argonauta Records. It's a solid rendering of some kick ass Stoner. The musicianship is excellent, the production values are strong, and the songwriter is impressive.

The album comprises a substantive 11 tracks, spanning 53 minutes. Lyrically this isn't your typical Stoner fare of spaceships, cars, and women, but rather some deep and insightful social commentary. As the band puts it, "The leitmotif is the hypocrisy of the appearance, about the difference between our real emotions, feelings, believes, opinions and what we want or we are forced to show in this 'over-ruled' social environment. The artwork expresses the will to escape from this black hole of social rules and regulamentations towards the inspirating light of the sun... in one word: 'Away'."

Musically the album eases in with the fist four tracks before making a notable shift to heavier, more sophisticated compositions. "Mazinga" kicks off the shift. The song has oscillating movements which lend a progressive flare, but more than that what sets this track apart is the visceral, earnest performance by Tommaso Santillo who just lays it out there. Now, I'm not saying the first four tracks are bad-in fact they are quite good-what I'm saying is "Mazinga" is so good it acts as an inflection point for the entire album. Following "Mazinga" comes a slew of standout tracks including: "This Iz" with Quattro flexing his substantial bass muscles and Francesco laying out some killer solos; "Crown" featuring a nasty, groovy riff; and title-track "Solar Mantra" which is both the longest and most impressive track on the album.

Geographically and biodiversity-wise, Italy is in the Mediterranean region of Europe. In fact, I think it's a member state. Musically, then, it makes sense they'd have the capacity to produce some top-rate Stoner alongside Greece. Maybe there's a causal link between good weather, good food, good wine, and good music. At any rate, it has been a very long wait since SOLAR MANTRA's 2017 EP (also a good album, btw), but "Away" is definitely worth it.