In case you haven't noticed, seventies and early eighties music is in vogue. The US trio Beelzefuzz ride the wave of retro and tap into the vein of inspiration which has defied the decades and landed in the second decade of the new millennium. We see examples of band who manage to grasp the
aspiration from yonder years excellently, and we witness others who shouldn't even have bothered. Beelzefuzz should bother, even if they're not quite there yet.
The song Lotus Jam, for one, keeps amazing me. This is by far the most exciting tune off this debut album, and it's in my view a tune to die for. Wonderful, simple as that. There are other good songs on the eponymously titled debut album by the trio, but they do not all stand their ground and turn into a bit of a boogie machine, really, which isn't that cool.
When you listen to the album, you can hear clear influences from the seventies and early eighties; Purple, Sabbath, early Dio, and it's
striking how singer Ortt churns out the vocals in a way which reminds me a lot of Bruce Dickinson on his solo albums (not his voice in itself, but the way he intonates and structures his vocal lines).
Even if the inspiration is the heaviest music of the seventies, this is not heavy in the Sabbath way. It has a lighter touch, especially the first four songs. Hypnotize, Lonely Creatures and Lunar Blanco slow down the pace and become a tad heavier.
Definitely an approved debut, but there's still work to be done to make all the material the quality of the track Lotus Jam.
