Hey Colossus – RRR

Despite churning albums out at a startling rate, the quality control on Hey Colossus’ assembly line of  acid-doom rarely dips below the magic mark of ‘skull-crushing’ and RRR, though not achieving new peaks, isn’t about to let the standard slide just yet. Taking assorted cues from Om, it’s an unnervingly restrained album where the wrought-iron riffs take a backseat to the aura of the spiritual, spiralling Middle-Eastern melodies cloaked in incense and mysticism.

Teased from the Nest turns this into an art, low ministerial chants overlaying melodies of the souk before mangled guitars creep in, subtly paving the way for The Drang, essentially one behemothian riff that gradually pours into the ears like cement. There are numerous forays into krautrock-like mantras, closer I am Bunga Bunga achieving the greatest access with turning the whole shebang into a coherent stream, but there’s enough on these seven slabs to keep both the red-eyed toker and the whisky-guzzling headbanger happy ‘til the next album, which is probably on its way already. [David Bowes]