ninehertz

Kaleidobolt have always had cocky-swagger to them, bringing front-foot, good-time rock into the more traditionally reserved and chilled out settings of psychedelia, what they call “hyperkinetic rock”, but Karakuchi has ramped it up further than ever before.

You sense it from the full metal logo and Orgasmatron-ic album artwork, overblown to the max. Press play and you’re greeted with stoner rock, psych and trad metal in an unashamedly Bad Wizard manner. You’re suckered in, hard to deny its will and frivolity.

It is occasionally patchy, especially early on after the opener, but never less than full-on. It picks up, its second half stronger, from the Ace of Spades-aping, supercharged Friends of Fire to the gunslinging cowboy strut allied to galloping guitars and proto-doom of Astro Boy/Ochanomizu.

It settles a little right at the end with a fantastic pairing of Kadavar or Troubled Horse style retro-doom and then closing with pristine uptempo nice time vibes. As stated early on, it is impossible to resist Kaleidobolt’s charms and positive energies. Even if and when thoughts they perhaps might have taken it too far arise, they dissipated just as quickly and Karakuchi has you rocking along once more.