When THE OFFSPRING released "Smash" in 1994, they very purposely made an intro which told of a relaxing and soothing music album to come, which the listener would then discover to be a sizable lie, as that legendary album does little to actually calm the nerves. Punk has a cruel sense of humor like that. If the average metalhead (or listeners adjacent) really want to relax and put their feet up to their music, they need not look any further than the permutations of the Stoner genre. They don't even have to get high for it (but, well, come on now).

Doobies or not, the specialized realm of Psychedelic/Stoner Metal has a new cloud to consider. Billowing from the north of France like a great purple haze, TREMOR AMA has hit the airwaves with their debut full-length album, "Beneath". It feels light for an inaugural effort, weighing in with five tracks at just over a half hour. The band has proven, however, that it only takes a little bit of rattlesnake venom to get you.

Starting with the aptly titled "Ab Initio", the band only ambiguously suggests what is about to follow. That's when the album's longest track, "Green Fire", winds up and explodes like a sonic titan lumbering through the smoke. Over the first eight minutes, they confirm their Psychedelic leanings and reveal a sincere stake in Stoner Metal.

A dabbling in Drone provides a segue into "Eclipse" before the song resumes their regular sound, and even at that, the band delivers a somewhat more conventional tune that follows along a familiar highway. The next track, "Mirrors", begins not dissimilarly to what we might hear towards the end of an early ORANGE GOBLIN album and then follows through nicely on it.

"Grey", the final track, really explores this particular cozy corner of Metaldom. The song begins with a far more Metallic effort than has been given thus far, and combining with the expert vocals, it becomes brilliantly Heavy and gains speed before tempering again, finally fading out in a cosmic murk.

Listening closely will yield influences from across the Psychedelic spectrum, from SLEEPY SUN to EARTH to 35007. Even that doesn't really tell the tale; one could go simply mad trying to identify all the impressions, but make no mistake, a countless number of eyes are gazing through the dark at "Beneath". The album is best taken as a whole, but if any tracks could stand on their own, "Mirrors" can and should find a place to be heard on relevant radio stations and radio podcasts, and so should "Green Fire".

So, if TREMOR AMA wishes it, they can carry their twin-banner to festival battlegrounds and conquer the competition, at least in their own arena. Time will tell if they possess the versatility to retain old fans while winning new ones, but if "Beneath" is any kind of foundation, the band's legacy could be nothing short of skyscraperish.