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Reviews

Colour Haze — Tempel
(Elektrohasch 005, 2006, CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2007-03-01

Tempel Cover art

While there are numerous bands out there breaking new ground and never looking back, there are just as many others breathing new life into tried and true styles of decades long gone. For vintage acid-drenched heavy psychedelic jam-rock of the late-60s/early-70s vintage, this sixth offering by Colour Haze certainly merits a serious listen. Not having heard the previous five, I can’t offer comparisons or a progress report, but what we have here is the hard-edged sound of a trio (g+v/b/d) driven by long free-wheeling fast-moving jams with some serious distortion in play. Guitarist Stefan Kogler handles the vocal duties, which at times almost seem incidental in comparison to the overall volume of the music that accompanies them; Philipp Rasthoffer’s bass and drummer Manfred Merwald comprise a precise and intense rhythm section, but tend to get buried in the guitar distortion whenever Kogler is not soloing. His solos, however, tend to the jazzy side, either very clean and complimentary to the other players, or shredding it up in a thick wall of fuzz. Some guest Hammond organ on a couple tracks adds a welcome variety to the sound palette. Occasionally it all slows down to a less frenzied pace where all three players can move out into more explorative improvs. Those looking for the psychedelic holy grail probably won’t find it here, but will be nonetheless in for a nice surprise.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 34, 2006 releases

Related artist(s): Colour Haze

 

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