Wheelfall’s Blaze in the Northern Sky
Everything I’ve seen, heard or read about French stoner rockers Wheelfall compares them to Slo Burn (fair since “Wheel Fall” was the name of a track on the latter’s 1996 demo), so in the interest of comparison and a refresher, I took out the Amusing the Amazing EP and put it next to Wheelfall’s self-released debut extended player, From the Blazing Sky at Dusk. What did I find out, you ask? Well, I found out John Garcia is awesome and the kid from Wheelfall is no John Garcia, but I don’t suppose that does much for a review.
Yeah, I guess a Slo Burn comparison works, but there are at least 100 other desert rock acts who would fit just as well, most notably Kyuss, whose Blues for the Red Sun could easily be seen as the blueprint for From the Blazing Sky at Dusk. The double-guitar Lorraine four-piece do a job of balancing groove and aggression, and their tones are pretty well what you’d expect from desert fuzz. According to their bio, they will, “beat you down with an [sic] heavy atmosphere and a fuzzy distortion up your ass.” I can say from several listening experiences, From the Blazing Sky at Dusk sounds much more pleasant than that.
Vocals come courtesy of guitarist Wayne Furter, whose gruff delivery is a bit of a put-on and could stand some development (in which this EP will doubtless aid), but is a decent match with these five-plus tracks anyway. There are three interludes on From the Blazing Sky at Dusk – titled “From the…” “…Blazing Sky… (Nasa)” and “…At Dusk…” – that seem to recount some alien capture and subsequent rectal probing (perhaps with a fuzzy distortion), but five genuine songs, which is why I make the distinction “five-plus.” The interludes, apart from “…Blazing Sky… (Nasa),” which jams a bit, don’t really feature any music from Wheelfall, so although I’ve dedicated a paragraph to them at this point, I’d just as soon not count them, as by my estimation they don’t really add anything to the release. It’s not like the desert atmosphere was lacking before they came along.
As for the rest of the songs, or rather, the songs themselves, drummer Quentin Vega gets a little too busy on “Brotherhood of Sleep,” perhaps betraying his age, leaving bassist Niko El Moche, Furter and guitarist Cactus Daniels to catch up. During both the verse and the apex of the 6:31 track, double kick bass feels out of place in the song and detracts from the grooved-out vibe Wheelfall has already established on From the Blazing Sky at Dusk. I understand wanting to change it up, but it just feels like he’s playing too much and could stand to sit back and ride out the rhythm rather than impose himself on it. Fortunately that’s not a problem for the earlier, faster cuts “Through the Desert” (does France have deserts?) and “New Flesh,” which are probably better examples of what Wheelfall can do stylistically with the desert rock formula. Things get a little metallic with the three songs following “…Blazing Sky… (Nasa)” and some of the rock aspect is lost, which is unfortunate since the band is more in their element within it.
“Troops of the Dead” and “Anthropophagous Astro Bastards,” which surround “Brotherhood of Sleep,” do a better job of balancing the stoner and the metal, the former sounding especially appropriate coming out of the slightly jamming interlude. It’s clear Wheelfall have some growing to do stylistically. From the Blazing Sky at Dusk is decent heavy desert rock, but ultimately I’d like to hear something more individual from the band since obviously they have the chops to tackle the sound. Still, the debut EP is worth checking into, especially since the band sold out of their physical copies and are giving away free downloads via their MySpace page.
Tags: France, Lorraine, Unsigned bands, Wheelfall
I reviewed this last week. It was a good album. Short and sweet as I look at it. There’s actually been a lot about them since I reviewed it. I managed to get one of the last physical copies available.