Embedded Files
BASALTIC PLATEAU "Dead Dinosaurs Echoes"
BASALTIC PLATEAU "Dead Dinosaurs Echoes"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Albums of instrumental heavy rock are very tricky things to pull off successfully. And here we have another example of that with Italian psych-stoner trio BASALTIC PLATEAU. These guys have their moments, but overall, they just don't have the chops to pull off instrumental "desert rock".
The absence of vocals almost always leaves a gap to be filled. Some bands can pull it off...STINKING LIZAVETTA is a great example of one...but BASALTIC PLATEAU can't. A band needs extraordinary technical ability to fill those gaps, especially in guitar based bands. Maurizio Cau, the guitarist here, is not bad, but he just doesn't have the ability to ignite the strings. His riffing is pleasantly bland and his solos don't stand out. Even the use of typical psychedelic guitar effects doesn't help. There's parts where he seems to get it...the final solo in the title track, for instance, but it's too little too late. Guys like Wino and Dave Chandler can make those guitar strings melt with feeling and intensity. But Cau just isn't at that level.
I've never been a big fan of desert rock, but if you like more languid tones, BASALTIC PLATEAU might be more to your taste. I did like the song "Peyote Rising", which has the right mix of atmosphere, hard riffing and lysergic noise. Cau's bass and drum duo is more than competent, but again not at the level to raise the music.
"Dead Dinosaurs Echoes" is pleasantly forgettable, but this PLATEAU needs more heft to stand out from the landscape.
Report abuse