Chicago heavy psych legends Dark Fog released their latest collection of stoner rock nuggets this past summer in the form of a new album entitled Make You Believe.
Not a single song clocks in at under 5 minutes on this 5-track ripper. Singer/guitarist Ray Donato’s vocals are obscured by layers of atmospheric reverb while his guitar cuts through with quick stabs and some quintessential psychedelic wah-wah work on the opening track “Let Us See (What It’s All About)
The album continues in a groovier fashion with the slower burning “I Was Dead (Alive In a Dream)”. The guitar licks take on a spacier persona while the rhythm section of bassist Drew Kettering and drummer Yt Robinson keeps chugging along with kraut-rock precision. The song is well organized chaos that feels like it may fall apart at any time but manages to maintains its form somehow.
The band gets back into the loud, heavy riffing we know and love on “Dimensional Shift”. The song rips right into it with the entire band going at full steam from the start until a subtle bass line shifts the song into an ethereal jam and back again. The two extremes balance out to make this one a definite standout of the album.
The title track “Make You Believe” is another meandering soundscape that twists and turns on a dime. Dark Fog are incredibly adept at taking a song from maximum volume down to a “whisper” (which is still pretty loud for them). The instrumental bits on this one are truly gorgeous.
Closing out the album is “Trapped In A Dream”—another avant-garde psychedelic session that ambles along for nearly 9 minutes. Erratic yet subtle tempo changes are accented by stabbing jazz chords and busy drum fills. The song eventually slows to a trickle as it finds it way to an end.
This genre-bending album should adequately feed the heads of most psychedelic minded listeners. Fans of heavy guitars, thunderous yet intricate bass lines, and drums that just don’t quit will find plenty to love in these 5 songs. Make You Believe lives up to its name and will surely convert those who try to resist it’s hypnotic powers. This album holds some of Dark Fog’s strongest songs to date and has become one of our favorites of 2018.
Up until this month, Make You Believe was only available as a digital download but we’re pleased to hear it will be getting a 12″ vinyl release in the US via one of Chicago’s finest psychedelic imprints, Eye Vybe Records and in the UK via Cardinal Fuzz Records.
Pre-Order the LP via Eye Vybe and get it on Friday 12/21, just in time for all of your Summer Solstice celebrations. Play it loud and play it often.
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