Search - Comets on Fire :: Blue Cathedral

The comets man, the comets

t-diggs | Brooklyn, NY USA | 01/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a just a shredding, rockin-ass record....All you people who think it is senseless noise, probably shouldnt have taken Pitchfork so seriously. They are wrong often. Dont just run out and buy everything they give a 8 and upwards too. They give 8's to Cam'Ron and Chingy as well as Radiohead and Boris....all those things are completely different. Comets are rock and roll. If you are looking for "Doom-Laden" stuff, this is not it. It is not anywhere near Godflesh, and I don't know why you would even compare it to that. This is straight off the wax from the 1970's. To give an idea of what this sorta sounds like, it sounds like Robert Plant circa Whole Lotta Love joined MC5, decided they really liked the Stooges and just as a thought, decided to throw in an Echoplex...It is mostly fast and frenzied guitar music, with all the knobs turned up to 10. Riffs cross Black Sabbath and MC5 in a split seconds time. If you like your rock noisy and off the hinges, check this out. They slow it down from time to time to good effect. They are all very talented musicians and they know how to stack sounds for a very crushing fuzzy approach. It is not metal. There is no chugga chugga, and what does an echoplex sound like? It's very hard to describe, think of the word "oscillation", mad spirals of sound, psychedelia, think acid drenched noise rock. They feed everything through the echoplex and it just adds to the frenzy. If you are looking for something chill, then this is not it. Its not even as chill as Zeppelins most rocking-est moments. It is far more cacaphonous. MC5 might be one of the closest things in terms of speed and riffing, and yes, they do throw down the solos, all dripping with noise....it is the wall of sound approach achieved through a 70's rock ethic. It is not for everybody, it has very avant-garde moments, and I think this will appeal to people who are looking for something extreme that is not metal or industrial or jazz. It is not indie-rock and it has very few counterparts right now. It is great to get stoned too, and it might freak you out. If this sounds fun to you do yourself a favor and pick up the album.

The only reason I can't justify a 5 is because I cant personally listen to it all the time. It has it's time and place. Alot of indie-rock I can play whenever and get into it. This is perfect for moments when I want to take a brillo pad to my brain and clean it out, or amp it up. It is like driving a hundred miles an hour on a dirt road in an old pick up truck while shooting off rifles while on acid. It is musical amphetamines and when it is time to listen to something crazy, it holds just as much weight as all those metal albums and punk albums that I love. I just cant listen to it everyday. It could be exhausting. But you wouldnt want to jog 50 miles everyday either, but you could barely get a better work out, now can you? Think of this as a musical work out. A band flexing musical muscles. The band deserves a 5 star rating based on talent alone, its only the accesibility that knocks it down a star."

The priestess of rawk demands a sacrifice

leopold bloom | the mighty palouse | 09/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...and I am powerless to deny her.



It would be stupid to dismiss this band upon hearing the words "Cream" or "Deep Purple." Repeat after me: "influence" and "plagiarism" are entirely different concepts. Comets top up the darkwave psychedelica with a good dose of avant noise: they know it's not 1967, too.



Besides, the point quickly becomes moot after about six seconds of "The Bee and the Cracking Egg," which sticks its steel-toed boot deep in the brainpan and flails the head around with perverse glee. It's loud and it's scary, but it's also carefully, intricately, beautifully structured. To hear roar like that downshift, upshift, and stop on a freakin' dime is pretty darn impressive (and the big difference between Blue Cathedral and Field Recordings from the Sun). Then you get "Pussy Foot the Duke," an instrumental that shows us that Yes could have been punk rockers, and good ones, too. The final track, "Blue Tomb," also gets your marrow vibrating to the subspectral frequencies of the universe.



If you're a rock and roll masochist that enjoys being pummelled senseless, you've found a friend (?) in Blue Cathedral."

Unbelievable

Francis | arlington, va | 12/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought I'd heard it all, but I must say when I first picked up Blue Cathedral I was struck by the sheer originality of the Comets' sound. Nothing sounds remotely like these guys. Something like Deep Purple and Yes collaborating with a bunch psychadelic spazz freaks and noise enthusiasts. Which, I guess, is exactly what the members of Comets on Fire are - total psycho noiz rockers, with one collective foot firmly planted in the sludgy 70's riff madness of Sabbath and Purple and the other in a pool of prog rock excess. It's an unbeatable combination. The searing noise and echobox explorations will have you teetering on the edge of madness, while a nasty, heavy organ and bass riff holds you down...until they switch gears and break it down with tender keyboards and melodic guitar that remind me of the Allman Brothers as much as Pink Floyd. Finally, the vocals are spare, but outstanding and totally unique. Sounds like Ian Gillan plus ten tons of reverb. The singer's voice is a real strong point, I hope they make more use of it on future albums. To sum it up, if you like stoner rock, jam rock, noise rock, metal, classic rock, prog rock - get this album and prepare to have your mind blown."