Seven That Spells

The land of heavy psychedelic has a new champion in Seven That Spells. Their second release, Black Om Rising, is a beautifully punishing example of progressive sonic experimentation exercised of wanky indulgence. Supreme musicianship on all fronts creates a rock solid foundation to stir up cacophonous freak-outs. The massive sounding four-piece slam out odd-meter grooves with authority while building tasteful arrangements of fuzzy bass, echo-laden free jazz saxophone, occasional synths and carefully calculated dissonant guitar. They run the gamut of dynamic intensity, disintegrating into faintly tribal staccato jazz ambience and charging into molten frenzies of metallic precision with equal aplomb. Tatsuya Yoshida of Ruins mastered the album and it’s easy to see his attraction to the project, or his influence on Seven That Spells. As an added bonus to an already exceptional album, the flipside of the CD features a full visual live performance of almost every track from Black Om Rising. It’s particularly impressive to see how seamlessly the band can pull off material this challenging and complicated live, and with such explosive energy. This is a truly lean but densely packed gem in an often-bloated scene.