Chuck Schuldiner Project

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Sandrider - Armada


Last year we were Hype-borian on Hyborian as one of the best stoner rock bands to come out, now I gotta say I'm feeling like riding with Sandrider. (Do these jokes make sense? Am I senile? Someone please - I'm so alone) These Seattle natives are stoner rock royalty in the making. They have crafted one of the most fun and potent records in the genre I have heard all year. Unabashed rock and rollers these heavy metal madmen go for the throat even from the first and it is a fucking blast any way you want to slice it.

I think what gets me here is a combination of the sense of forward motion that you find throughout the music paired with the melodic sensibilities fueling the songwriting. This is a band who don't always play by the rules but they don't need to. Even their chilled out moments are merely gasps for air before another colossal riff comes crashing down. What I like about this band is they cut all the bullshit, they are purely here for the music and they know it. It's been almost a decade that these guys have been around and they seem content to chug along at their own pace and in their own way. Decorating their sound with potent drum splashes to fight against waves of distortion and triumphant vocals, Armada is a fascinating listen.

What gets me, at the end of the day, is the sheer diversity of sound here. You can get anything from powerful cleans almost reminiscent of Wishbone Ash to hard rocking Motorhead moments, doomy progressions and straight up desert rock fury. This is an addictive listen that does a lot in a fairly short time. I mean, it's gotta, the band likes to take their time. Of course this means that what we've been able to dig into is absolutely flawless and it's going to be hard to tear myself away from this stunning example of raw rock fury.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/sandriderseattle/

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