Review Summary: Solid Stoner-Rock Metal with blues undertones that tastes like milk and honey.
I read once in some proverb when I was younger, “In the multitude of individuals there is transgression”. This interpretational saying can be directly related to music and more specifically to band members. When you have a band that has 4 plus members, sometimes even as much as 7 or more, it’s hard to balance out all the talents and abilities into one cohesive album. Fortunately with
Beehoover’s third LP “Heavy Zooo”, we go back to the roots of bassist and drummer. This necessary foundation to any rock band has often been overlooked by all the shredding guitarists and keyboardists of most rock bands since there beginnings. But, with
Beehoover we have two guys who are unequivocally passionate about the music they create, which shows in the power of presence they bestow. Guitarist Ingmar Petersen is very capable on the bass guitar. You’ll sometimes forget there's no guitar in this band because Ingmar knows how to pull some really nice sounding chords. The distortion he uses on his bass handles anything a guitar could do anyways. There aren’t any solos in this album and it doesn’t need any. The album stands strong with the use of solid riffs that are sometimes catchy and even moody from time to time; within the realms of metal and stoner rock.
Ingmar handles the vocals as well and does a swell job. He manages to blend various styles that fit over the riffs he happens to be playing at the moment, but he also shows self-control when the song only needs bass and drums. His voice is very unique, it almost sounds like a sped up version of the vocalist from My Dying Bride, if that even makes sense. Although rare, his voice is very enjoyable and fits the music well; even his purposeful smoke-cough at the beginning of the album. “Pain Power” shows what Ingmar is capable of, where we have his softer style of lower toned vocals during less aggressive passages to his crescendo-like yells layered under his average range attack. “Esophagus Overdrive” is a more aggressive and heavy track that uses Ingmar screaming styled vocals to propel the weighty riff chugs.
It’s important to understand that “Heavy Zooo” is not your typical stoner rock band or metal band. They really have a bluesy vibe to them which is what really attracted me to them. Blending heavy and blues together is always a win in my book. “Spirit & Crown” is a really cool track which starts with a playful delayed guitar riff that eventually gets overrun gradually by heavy distortion until the heavy layers are revealed to an awesome odd-timed riff that just oozes sensuality. It’s important to note that when the next song “My Funeral Procession” comes in it’s like hitting hyper-space where you’re just cruising with a neo-classical folk interlude; almost like a perfect trilogy that ends with “I Desert”, being quite different than the first two thirds. It’s an almost psychedelic feel of multiple synth layers and spoken vocals; playing along until one of the heaviest riffs of the album jumps in and just pounds. These dynamic factors are common element of “Heavy Zooo” and are essential to their sounds success.
Drummer Claus-Peter Hamisch really gets my juices flowing with his skills on the set. “Dance Like a Volcano” really shows his power of hits and dynamics over the cymbals and ride. Within about 12 seconds of this track he immediately supports some heavy bass riffs with clashing cymbals that never sound off and the ringing sounds just mesh so perfectly with the equalized production style. This is when I dig cymbals, the kind that aren’t overbearing or too trebly in the mix. Claus-Peter goes up in down on this track in dynamic fashion, resulting in softer parts getting worked within the high-hat and ride licks and heavier parts raining with cymbal blissfulness. “Stanislav Petrov” shows his skills on the toms where meshes sweet tom rolls and double hitters. Claus-Peter is really an asset to this two man band and he really is responsible for making everything blend together, exuding emotions, and keeping things exciting.
“Heavy Zooo”, with its bluesy nature, heavy riffs, and excellent drum work should keep any rocker happy for several listens. This cohesive and never challenging of a listen could be a perfect opener into the genre as well as being interesting enough to keep veteran listeners content. Both blues and straight up stoner rock lovers will have a lot appreciate here.
