Title: En Raga Sul
Album Review Format: Digital Download
Date of Release: 2009
Record Label: Hawthorne Street
Genre: Stoner-core
Website: www.medusakills.com
Reviewed by: Geoff McGraw
Track listings: 1.Rain Un Thunder 2.Mediatrix 3.En Raga Sul 4.Back To Dust 5.Transform 6.Destructor 7.Bruiser 8.Throne Of God 9.Inflict The Venom 10.Snakebite 11.Soldiers Of Death 12.Body Count 13.Alucarda 14.Flesh Fry 15.Wicked Father
Your review:
Bloomington, Indianas' Medusa obviously belives in the hardcore punk credo of "hit it and quit it", they get in, leave 'em bleeding and get out! The album barely cracks the half hour mark at 32 minutes, and includes 15 tracks. The longest of which is a whopping 3:01, with 4 falling at or below 1:30.
That being said to classify this band as punk or hardcore is a gross injustice. They seemlessly blend several styles in order to create their own sound while still paying tribute to those influences. There are punk, hardcore and metal influences everywhere, throw in some stoner rock, add in overdriven vocals that are reminiscent of Ministry, drop in sound bites and some samples and you have Medusa.
Lyrically the album is very hard to follow, while it never jumps the shark into the throat shredding howls of death or black metal, the words are fairly unintelligible, a lyric sheet would be helpful. The important thing here is that the vocals add to the music, Medusa does not forget that the voice is an instrument too, the actual words can be lost and still not reduce the enjoyment of listening.
En Raga Sul is a top notch contribution to what is currently called stoner-core, kudos to Medusa for crafting an album that pays homage to The Melvins and their contemporaries, but stands strongly on it's own!
8 out of 10 horns
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