ALBUM REVIEW: Shooting Guns - Born To Deal In Magic

This album has been out for while now, but I found this review on my computer and realized it hasn't been posted anywhere yet:

Who needs vocals anyway? Certainly not these guys. In fact, I’m not entirely sure how a vocalist would even really fit into this picture. The true challenge for an instrumental band is to make the music itself so compelling, that adding a vocal element would only be a hindrance to their sound. This is where Shooting Guns succeeds in glorious fashion. Despite the lack of lyrics or singing, there proves to be no shortage of narrative here. Here we have 8 songs that serve as chapters in this story which is narrated by bottom-heavy riff laden grooves, as the lyrical details are embellished by haunting atmospherics. Where does the story go exactly? Wherever your imagination takes you, I suppose. Whatever it is, it doesn’t necessarily sound like a happy tale. The band weaves orchestral soundscapes that echo sentiments of absolute isolation and despair. It’s almost like being able to record the audio of a waking nightmare. 

Entrancing and beautifully chaotic, the music itself if very reminiscent of Tool but with more exaggerated celestial psychedelia in the vein of Hawkwind. The overall tone of the record so ethereal and somnolent, Black Sabbath in the 70’s couldn’t handle this shit on strong acid. The songs are absolutely mesmerizing and hypnotic, as layers of riffs and other aural subtleties are successively added to the cosmic ether. It almost sounds like as though they are not so much consciously writing this music, as they are just harnessing the true natural sonic qualities of doom and madness. Perhaps imagine a ceremonial peyote ritual at an abandoned mental institution, and then somehow putting that on tape. This astral sonic journey is not very mirthful, but is positively spellbinding.