08.09
Blast From The Past is the followup LP to the highly acclaimed debut by the French group Yussuf Jerusalem. It opens up with a semi-gothic instrumental organ and drums piece that flows perfectly into the black metal aspect of the band, the aptly titled, “Evil Rise”. This is what you (if you’ve heard the first YJ LP) were expecting for the opening track: Razor sharp guitars, trash-can cymbals, and distorted unintelligible vocals…essentially it’s black metal done way better than most current black metal bands that focus completely on a genre that I would consider to be pretty derivative of itself, instead of expanding a sound or encompassing multiple genres. No black metal bands couldn’t actually play something that had melody. As if. This is metal that hinges on Black Sabbath type riffs, and that’s about the only type of metal I can handle. It’s followed up by “Through Winters Darkest Day”, which is a mostly acoustic pop gem that reminds me of a more vocally accessible Neutral Milk Hotel. Catchiness, without anything quirky at all. No extra bells or whistles, just a couple dudes, an acoustic, some drums and a great song.
In “At The End Of The World” the singer sings “I’m going to hell for lyrical heaven”, yeah I’ll take that for a chorus. Pretty cool to me. The song has enough jangly guitars and hooks for pop heads and enough weird quirks and noises for repeated listens. “Saint Joan” has some serious Middle Eastern elements without the standard drone affair often currently associated with the genre.
“You Broke My Heart In Two” starts out all surfy with some modern garage elements. Think Black Lips playing a country-tinged number like Demon Claws might – Or the Weakends with less vibrato and more vocal volume. The clean tremolo guitar is a perfect match for the countryesque feel of the drums and the slide guitar popping in and out during the verses. Through the range of songs and killer hooks, Yussuf Jerusalem once again prove their prowess in creating a varied but completely balanced pop garage psych folk metal record. A completely unique listening experience. Highly Recommend.
Hear “At The End Of The World”
Yussuf Jerusalem – “At The End Of The World” on Florida’s Dying Records by kindturkeyrecords
Yussuf Jerusalem on Facebook
Buy Blast From The Past from Florida’s Dying
