Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky

Nick, over at fab webzine Prog Sphere dropped this beast in my Inbox and said, "Hey, Roger - Tell us what you think of this". Now, some of Nick's taste is divergent from mine, but this is an album we can both dig.

With a classic guitar/bass/drums power trio line up, this French band produce a sound tethered to Earth by enormous slabs of bass heavy doom rock, tuned waay below normal, anchored by an unfussy drummer with a John Bonham obsession, atop of which some fuzzed up wah and reverb guitar takes flight. The dark is lightened up by the singer, who sounds like a young Ozzy had he been a choirboy rather than a grave-digger. His angelic voice is a pure thing and with a similar range to Mr Osbourne but without ever straining at the leash. The band stomp into opener Strong Reflection, giving praise at the altar of early Black Sabbath like any other self-respecting doom rockers, but they manage to add mystique with the singer's pure tones.




There is also a blues sensibility running through the album, and on Marble Sky the echoed vocal melody is reminiscent of Money Can't Save Your Soul by Savoy Brown but it might be doubtful if these young whippersnappers have ever heard that tune.

A decent addition to the collection of any rock fan who's into the heavier end of the spectrum. Apparently the band opened for Killing Joke at the Bataclan in Paris not so long ago. A strange combination that is also entirely logical when you think about it.

Track list:
01 Strong Reflection
02 Curse
03 Falls
04 Way To Rome
05 Saddle Point
06 Marble Sky
07 Up The Stairs

Line up
Jimmy Kinast – bass
Julien Pras – guitar, vocals
Benoit Busser – drums 


Links 
http://www.myspace.com/marsredsky
http://www.reverbnation.com/marsredsky
Buy
http://www.marsredsky.com/store

3.5 out of 5
#54