MOUNT SALEM
8
Endless
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
7
May Death Never Stop You
Metal Blade (2014)
Reprise (2014)
Mount Salem is a four piece retro Doom/ Psychedelic band from Chicago that caught the attention of Metal Blade Records in almost no time. This work was originally released as their first EP, but Metal Blade was so impressed with the band’s mature sound that they asked them to turn it into a full-length album. Mount Salem added a couple of tracks, worked a bit on their production values and Endless became a first album worthy of being the 3rd or 4th of a more experienced band. Maybe the fact that each of the members decided to take on a new instrument when they started the band gave them a collective expertise that contributed to the experienced sound on Endless. As it is with most retro bands, it’s impossible not to talk about the influences. Mount Salem emulate the classic riffs of Black Sabbath and Pentagram as best as they can. There truly is no innovation in their sound. However, just because there are no groundbreaking moments in Endless, it doesn’t mean it’s not good. The one thing that puts Mount Salem above the average vintage doom outfit is Emily Kopplin’s voice. It’s warm and you can almost feel it in the air, as if it had a mystical texture to it. If you’re still not bored with the genre of retro doom/ psychedelic, Mount Salem’s Endless is one of those albums you just can’t miss.
We can admit that sometimes it might make sense to “Fake Your Death”. Every time we think about someone faking his own death we think about Machiavelli, an Italian war strategist who advocated faking one’s death to fool their enemies... Well guys, we are not saying anything, we are maybe suggesting... Ok guys, it’s time to use your head and workout a bit your remains of intelligence. These guys were (are) a band way ahead of their time, maybe even our time, who think with their own heads and they have just released their so called final song “Fake Your Death” - “Some people watch, some people pray / But even lights can fade away / Some people hope, some people pay / But why we have to stay...”. The thing is they want you to think that the idea, the art behind My Chemical Romance will never die, standing out from the fact of being musicians. After all, the music is a form of art, where creativity leads the way against this bullshit society, ruled by their pre-conceived ideas, even musical genres, fans and musical fundamentalists are part of this cooperative business that is music, trends and all that fucking bullshit behind this filthy world... - “So fake your death, oh it’s your blame / And leave the lights on when you stay / Take off your clothes and dream and fade / Come on and feel that shame”. Bravo guys, it’s time to “...leave this place for sane today...”.
FOR FANS OF:
FOR FANS OF:
ESSENTIAL TRACKS:
ESSENTIAL TRACKS:
Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Royal Thunder
My Chemical Romance Duhh
It’s a best of! So... Maybe All! But let’s say Fake Your Death
Good Times, Full Moon, Hysteria
FAUSTO CASAIS
CARLOS CARDOSO
musicandriotsmagazine.com
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