Album Review: Indica Blues - Universal Heat Death
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
There’s something incredibly satisfying when you hear a crunchy doom/stoner rock guitar sound coming out of your speakers at the beginning of a song, and that’s exactly what Oxford’s Indica Blues have done on the self-titled opening song. It’s a bruiser from the start, with Tom Pilsworth and Lewis Batten displaying their guitar chemistry for our audible pleasure.
“Universal Death Heat” is the quartet’s first album since “We Are Doomed” five years ago, and upon hearing “The Raven” it cements their reputation as one of the country’s finest exponents of doom/stoner music. The compositions are laced with psychedelic moments that will have you nodding appreciatively as soon as you hear it, and with searing riffs and dynamic solos, they are soon in full flow.
“Bloodsands Pt1” opens delicately with a hypnotic bassline from Andrew Haines-Villalta, and he’s quickly joined by drummer Rich Qalker, as they set a powerful base for the guitars to come in and lead an explosive and expansive melody. I love that it’s an instrumental track, as it showcases their musical skills, and links well with “Bloodsands Pt2” which appears later on the album, accompanied by the hazy, tripped out vocals from Pilsworth alongside the heavier fuzzed out notes from the guitars.
Due to the global pandemic that stopped them touring their last release, singer Tom said that they are “looking forward to touring Universal Heat Death, and hope that no cataclysmic world events stop us this time” and armed with these songs, they are sure to pulverise venues and audiences wherever they may roam.
The album looks at various themes, war, revenge and teenage destruction, and “The Slow Descent into Hell” is a short blast of stoner and sludge, with a weighty consistency weaving its way across proceedings. Next up is “Debt Ridden Blues”, and you simply can’t ignore this song, as it’s slow and cumbersome, with a hedonistic mix of heavy and slow bluesy riffs and solos, yet it’s compelling and evocative, and you automatically feel that you are drinking bourbon in a smoke-filled saloon bar in the Deep South somewhere.
They end with “So Low” which raises the tempo somewhat, with more fluid percussions allowing the vocals to be a commanding presence in the mix. The seven songs are a great combination of bluesy, adrenaline fuelled, fuzzed out, riff bludgeoning melancholy that will see them gain many more fans across the globe.
