Review: Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip

It feels to me as though Black Rainbows have been around for forever, and as time moves on they seem to get more and more productive with new records and touring, and the more they do it, the better they get. Stellar Prophecy and Pandaemonium raised the bar for the band and the subsequent live shows blew me away every time I witnessed them. With the constant touring, successful side projects and record label, I wonder how they get time to sit down and craft out more killer songs at such a pace, but here we are, Cosmic Ritual Supertrip.

It takes about 20 seconds before At Midnight You Cry kicks in, and kicks in it does. The song has all the structure of a Black Sabbath track with the open ended riffs to the full on rockin’ ones, but that fuzz n’ roll sound that is quite unique to Black Rainbows is all over it. The vocals fit perfectly round the hook of the riff that steam rollers itself through just under three minutes and doesn’t let up. Defiantly a song that will open a show and get the crowd going.

Universal Phase slows it down a bit with a big stomping monolithic-like riff that roles across the plains. Add in some Sci-Fi film quotes in the background and the track conjures up the images of the Earth under attack. The vocals are more hypnotic this time and Gabriele has this great ability to let his voice drift away at the end of a line, adding to the magic. As the song speeds up, the cymbals keep crashing, the guitars keep buzzing and the song finishes as powerful as it started.

You can see why Radio 666 was used as a single/promo video as it has that laid back California vibe to it. Starting off with the strumming guitars and cleaner vocals that have me thinking of 60’s/70’s psychedelia in the way that Monster Magnet always excel at, it creates that easy going feel to it. Whenever I think of Black Rainbows its always bad ass motorbikes, but this time they’ve swapped that for an open top Chevy or Mustang, and the riff hook roll’s on and on likes it’s tearing up the asphalt. I really dig the retro sound here.

You cannot but feel the 70’s groove of Isolation. Opening with a blue’s riff that gets the head nodding instantly, the lead guitar work over the riff is something rather special. After this the track tempo builds and builds with soaring vocals and some water tight percussion and half way through the song just opens up, jams along and doesn’t stop.

Hypnotized By The Solenoid keeps the fuzz but drifts into a warmer trippy psychedelic world. Drifting in with a hypnotic vibe, there’s lots of 60’s coloured lights that drift into Pink Floyd and Hawkwind territory, but still sound distinctly Black Rainbows. Gabriele’s vocals soar throughout, really making this one of the stand out tracks and the awesome solo at the end takes you high in to the sky.

The Great Design is a 2 minute trip through the mind and in to your sub-conscious, building a trippy atmosphere behind a mesmerizing guitar that walks you in to the light. 

Master Rocket Power Blast pulls you straight back from the sub-conscious with a full force assault of big fuzzy guitars. It’s loud, straight to the point and rocks with a slightly punk edge to it. 

Snowball has a huge groove that swings back and forth, soaring vocals, crashing cymbals and lots of guitar soloing and blues work.

Glittereyzed pulls away from the fuzz and creates an atmosphere built up on the strumming guitar work and rolls along with a hypnotic rhythm to it before everything turns to 11 and the song explodes. This is Black Rainbows showing many a band how to do stoner rock.

Sacred Graal closes out the album with more full force stoner rock that many bands only wish they could play. Again, Gabriele’s vocals are absolutely superb.

Now if you have the special edition record or digital version, your journey doesn’t end here, as you have 2 bonus tracks, starting with Searching For Satellites Part I & II, a mystical up-tempo acoustic trip that must have been created whilst sat round a fire under the stars of the night sky. Add in some sci-fi effects in the background and maybe we aren’t alone in the universe.

Fire Breather starts with the line “If you see this big bird, it’s the sign that you’re going to die real soon” which could be very true with the way the world is right now. Lyrics aside, Fire Breather is another rocker of a song that motors down the highway and out in to the desert sun.

Cosmic Ritual Supertrip is quite a ride and Black Rainbows are again on top of their game. The huge fuzzy songs get fuzzier and the psychedelic outings become more trippier. With various special edition versions provided by Heavy Psych Sounds, you know what to do.

Website – Bandcamp – Heavy Psych Sounds