In what looks like the end of the line for German psychedelic/stoner/space rock veterans, Samsara Blues Experiment are going out in style with their latest effort End of Forever. With 5 albums now under their belt and ten years in the business, the band sadly appear to have called it a day, or at least put things on indefinite hiatus, which is a real shame as they are easily one of the brightest acts on the 'fuzz' scene. End of Forever is an absolute joy, kicking off with the glorious "Second Birth", 11-minutes of throbbing bass courtesy of Hans Eiselt, analog keyboard bliss (Mellotron, Hammond, Moog), and Christian Peters' big fat riff and tasty David Gilmour inspired solos. His vocals on "Massive Passive" remind of Bobby Liebling of Pentagram, as the band blend in bluesy, acoustic guitar strains alongside the massive fuzz riffing, while drummer Thomas Vedder rumbles with manic intensity alongside tasty Hammond organ and Peters' fabulous Latin tinged guitar solos on Southern Sunset"...classic Santana fans will LOVE this one! The Mellotron and more synths appear once again with acoustic & electric guitars on the lovely "Lovage Leaves", but the menacing fuzz comes back to play on the crushing title track, nearly 8-minutes of vintage Black Sabbath and Pentagram love, punctuated by more of that ominous Mellotron. Of course, gotta have the huge epic at the end, 19-minutes of psychedelic stoner space rock majesty in the form of "Orchid Annie". which is chock full of majestic guitar solos, organ, velvety bass, synths, nimble drums, big fat riffs, and those haunting vocals...it's a chilling yet glorious ride. Why they needed to throw in 3-4 minutes of silence before the furious climax is puzzling, as I thought bands stopped doing that years ago, but it doesn't detract from the amazing stuff during the rest of the track.
End of Forever is an absolute joy, and if this is indeed to be the last Samsara Blues Experiment album, they've gone out in a blaze of glory and released possibly their finest platter of psychedelic sounds. Mandatory stuff here folks.
Track Listing
1. Second Birth (10:58)
2. Massive Passive (6:00)
3. Southern Sunset (6:46)
4. Lovage Leaves (4:17)
5. End of Forever (7:55)
6. Orchid Annie (8:24)
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