YEAR LONG DISASTER

"Black Magic; All Mysteries Revealed" (Volcom; 2010)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

Year Long Disaster’s sophomore effort, "Black Magic; All Mysteries Revealed," continues this prominent Los Angeles powerhouse trio’s quest to revert rock'n'roll back to the period when heavy, loud, and a bit mysterious was the order of the day with 11 tracks teeming with the indomitable grit and unencumbered spirit of classic hard rock acts like Led Zeppelin, Cream and AC/DC with touches of current acts like The Hellacopters and White Stripes sneaking in through the back door (“Major Arcana”).

This album, produced by Nick Raskulinescz (QOTSA, Foo Fighters), is a no frills well-built groove-laden experience bolstered with dollops of vintage analog-esque warmth, allowing the guitars to snarl and bite with a convincing bluesy retro vibe (“Venus at the Crossroads”) while the bass and drums produce a bounty of rollicking rhythms that soulfully shake and shimmer throughout the duration of the record (“Love Like Blood”).

Picking and choosing their spots to explode with rounds of hard rock histrionics (“Sparrow Hill”) or pensively withdraw with swirls of acoustic guitars (“Seven of Swords”), Year Long Disaster aim for the top of the hard rock mountain with the authentic sound and the subtle smoothness that should help achieve this group’s lofty goal.

For more information, check out http://www.yearlongdisaster.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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Copyright © 2010 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
Revised: 19 Mar 2024 18:57:23 -0500 .