Desert’Smoke Premiere “49th Steam Box”; Self-Titled LP Out March 28
Lisbon-based instrumentalist heavy psychedelic explorers Desert’Smoke will release their self-titled four-songer LP on March 28 through Raging Planet. It is the second full-length from the doubly-guitarred four-piece behind late-2019’s Karakum (review here), continuing a penchant for oil-painted cover art while broadening the material’s reach as the returning lineup of guitarists André Rocha and João Romão, bassist João Nogueira and drummer Cláudio Aurélio priotitize listener immersion from the outset with opener “Fuzzy Txitxu” (7:54) seeming to set itself adrift initially around standalone effects guitar, a patient beginning that soothes as the second guitar enters with drums and bass, subtly building up to a meditative jam over the first two minutes. Then cut. Feedback. A muted crash. Gnarlier guitar twists out a faster, immediately more solidified riff, and mere seconds later they’re chugging along like a two-axe Karma to Burn like nothing ever happened.
The old switcheroo? Pulling the rug out? Shenanigans???
Nothing quite so trickery-laced when you hear it, but that moment is telling. The intro lures you into the blindside, and a more straightforward procession takes hold for the duration. The subsequent “Gravity Absence” (8:59) adds another level of heavy to the end, answering the noisy grunge of the song’s solo-laced midsection with a decisive low-end flattening as they push to the finish. Side B, with “Blind Watcher” (11:42) 
and the premiering-below “49th Steam Box” (6:46), continues to flesh out from where “Fuzzy Txitxu” began, with the album’s longest track as an obvious standout, both for the runtime and how it expands on the mellower fluidity of earlier intros and, rather than a stark change, how it builds gradually into its crescendo, thoughtful in the construction and organic in the actual sound. The jam ebbs and flows and there’s time enough to accommodate that as well as some post-rock-minded float in the guitar, shades of Red Sparowes or Russian Circles maybe making their way in among influences, but it’s a hypnotic course one way or the other, and its apex solo is executed with particular clarity and class.
At last to the matter at hand, “49th Steam Box” (on the player below) serves to tie all of this together on the record. It’s the place where the weight of “Gravity Absence” and the breadth of “Blind Watcher” coexist, and it calls back to the sharp divide of “Fuzzy Txitxu” with a willful contrast, not lacking dynamic in itself as the guitar peppers light lead notes over a crunching intro and the band find themselves in a kind of instru-prog shove headed toward the midpoint, almost metallic in tone but still locked in a heavy groove rhythmically. They carry through the closer’s middle movement with due force, then reset to make their last go, guitar soaring and scorching all the while as the drums and bass cycle through and build into a dense last-minute chug and an efficient crashing finish before they give over to the heavy silence that follows.
Taken as a whole, Desert’Smoke feels remarkably complete by the time “49th Steam Box” is done; the band have told their story through sound in a way that legitimately feels narrative as various elements tie together throughout, the songs speaking to each other as they refine Desert’Smoke‘s meld, highlighting individuality of purpose by pulling from multiple styles as they go and being willing to take chances in their songwriting.
You can hear “49th Steam Box” on the player here, followed by more from the PR wire.
I invite you to please enjoy:
Desert’Smoke, “49th Steam Box” track premiere
Desert’Smoke on “49th Steam Box”:
Our upcoming self-titled album is a four-track journey spanning 35 minutes, blending heavy stoner rock with immersive psychedelia. The cover artwork is a segment of an oil painting by Catarina Felix Machado, titled ‘Gravity Absence,’ which also inspired the name of the second track. Our first single, “49th Steam Box”, is the shortest and most explosive track on the record, named after our Studio Box, where everything came to life.
Preorder: https://ragingplanet.bandcamp.com/
Born in the underground scene of Lisbon, Desert’Smoke emerged with a mission: to craft an instrumental blend of heavy stoner rock, hypnotic psychedelia, and raw energy fit for the biggest Stoner/Rock/Metal festivals. Inspired by the likes of Elder, The Obsessed, and 40 Watt Sun, the band quickly carved out a space in Portugal’s heavy music landscape.
Their debut EP, Hidden Mirage, introduced their expansive sound and opened doors to major festivals, including SonicBlast. Riding the momentum, they released their first full-length album, Karakum, through Raging Planet Records, receiving praise from fans and critics worldwide.
Despite pandemic setbacks delaying their European ambitions, Desert’Smoke kept the fire burning, playing key festivals in Portugal and sharing the stage with major acts. When the time was right, they joined forces with Bulletseed, a European booking agency, to hit the road across Spain, France, Switzerland, and Italy, marking their first international tour with resounding success.
Reinvigorated by their journey, the band returned to the studio to craft their most ambitious work yet—Desert’Smoke, their upcoming self-titled album, set for release on March 28. With another European tour already in the works for May-August 2025, the band is poised to take their cosmic desert voyage to even greater heights.
From the depths of rehearsal studios to international stages, Desert’Smoke continues to push the boundaries of stoner and psychedelic rock, forging an experience as immersive as it is powerful.
Desert’Smoke:
André ROCHA on guitar
João ROMÃO on guitar
João NOGUEIRA on bass
CLÁUDIO Aurélio on drums
Raging Planet Records on Facebook
Tags: Desert'Smoke, Desert'Smoke Self-titled, Lisbon, Portugal, Raging Planet, self-titled
