All Souls
All Souls, self-titled release
FILE UNDER:
Camel, Queens of The Stone Age, The Screaming Trees, Tool, and King Crimson.
THE SKINNY:
All Souls is comprised of four unique and very talented musicians including Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson, The Desert Sessions, Linda Perry), Tony Aguilar and Meg Castellanos (Totimoshi, Alma Sangre) and Erik Trammel (Black Elk, Wadsworth). Tool’s Danny Carey drums on one of the LP’s nine tracks, “Sadist/Servant.”
The band members all met each other way back in 1994 but didn’t become a reality until 21 years later, in 2015. Serious music lovers are lucky they came together to make lysergic magic.
THE DISC CONNECTS:
All Souls is potent and defies simple, tidy categorizations. There are elements of the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, but it doesn’t sound dated or like some faux nostalgia trip. Imagine a more experimental Queens of the Stone Age, crossed with early Screaming Trees, mixed with the sullen moodiness of early Tool, and topped off with 70’s prog-rock flourishes. Of the disc’s nine tracks, the stand out track for this critic is “The Ghost Is Flying Home.” Fans of deep album cuts from classic masters like Camel, Hawkwind, or Triumvirat will dig this track with a shovel. “Sadist/Servant” featuring circular drumming from Tool’s Danny Carey, will cause pleasant flashbacks and have you wondering if Rush left this track off of “Caress of Steel.”
SELECT CUTS:
The opening salvo, “Party Night,” sports a droning slide guitar and Antonio Aguilar’s unsettling vocals that are reminiscent of a more polished Jello Biafra. The backbeat is strong and propelled by nitro-charged minor key guitars and a burrowing earwig drone that makes for an epic opener. “Never Know” sounds like it could be from a forgotten QOTSA or Eagles of Death Metal recording session or some rare, obscure British import. Bassist Meg Castellanos’ backup vocals add great tension and a dark MBV undercurrent. The epic “Rename The Room” could be a lost track from some obscure 70’s prog band across the pond crossed with early Tool.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE:
The members of this All Souls come with their unique pedigrees and flavors. They create music that challenges the listener and breaks the mold of stale, FM, sanitized radio that lulls the listeners into a boredom-induced coma. This disc breaks that mold, doses the mind, and expands the consciousness. Drop in and drop out.
All Souls have toured with Red Fang, The Sword, and Torche.
BUY:
Their debut on Sunyata Records is slated for release on February 9th. If you enjoy sonic head trips and music that’s a bit more challenging and innovative, may we recommend All Souls?
