Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Rulaman — Death Whistle
(Tonzonen TON176, 2025, LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-04-19

Death Whistle Cover art

When the opening title track of Rulaman’s Death Whistle kicks in, you might think you’re in for a sludgy doom-fest. This is a plodding heavy riff that would get any stoner tossing the hair back and forth. My initial thought was, “Do I have to endure a whole album of this?” I mean, I love a good riff, but I like some variety in tempo and mood over the course of an album. Luckily, my salvation comes a minute and a half later, when the guitar drops out, an organ sneaks in and some nice clean vocals show up, complete with backing parts. When the guitar comes back in, it’s accompanied by the organ, for a much brighter sound. When things come to a head about six minutes in, suddenly they veer off into a more energetic groove with ringing guitar parts, harmony lines, and an active bass. It’s pretty darn tasty. “Simple Offerings” is a shorter track with a psychedelic one-chord riff for the verses and a punchy chorus that verges on progressive territory. It wouldn’t be far off to describe Rulaman as a heavy psych band inflected with touches of Porcupine Tree, or maybe like what Porcupine Tree would sound like if their 70s inspiration came from Black Sabbath instead of Pink Floyd. “Valley Part II” starts with organ for a hint of something like a Uriah Heep ballad; “We Can’t Be” turns bluesy and almost has an Allman Brothers feel to it. Both keyboards and bass are handled by Joel Büttner, so I’m not sure how they manage in a live situation, but for this studio recording, it works great. Guitarist Felix Berns does well both with the crushing heavy riffs and with more melodic material, and though there aren’t many blazing solos, his work is solid and perfectly suited to the music, even pulling out a slide on “Goblin Liver King.” Drummer Nils Kunze propels the band powerfully, both in the loud sections and the more subtle parts. If you like your rock heavy, but not necessarily metal, and don’t mind touches of prog and other styles, Rulaman should be just what you’re looking for.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Rulaman

More info
http://rulaman.bandcamp.com/album/death-whistle

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.