Deadly Vipers – Low City Drone
Release Date: 30th September 2022
Label: Fuzzorama Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Stoner Rock
FFO: Foot, Kyuss, Electric Wizard.
Review By: The Wayfaerer
Fuzzy stoner rock is a genre you appreciate. Unlike most other different forms of rock and metal, you’re not here to thrash or mosh or generally destroy the place after the first few opening chugs, you more just sit and vibe, up to the point where the cannabis floods your brain, and you sink into a pool of riffs that take you across the stars. Being under the influence is not required to enjoy such music, and if you really pay attention to it, the songwriting can be much more than meets the eye. Such is the case with Deadly Vipers. Hailing from Cabestany, France, Deadly Vipers treads a road long travelled by many psych/stoner rock bands before them, while hoping to also stand out from the crowd. With David Migaud on guitars, Fred Chinarro on vocals, Rudy Carretero on drumming duties, and Thomas Gronnier on bass, Deadly Vipers looks to engulf you in a blanket of fuzzy riffs with their third LP, Low City Drone.
Echoes From The Wasteland gives you a good introduction of what you can expect, a calm, clean intro that transforms into a triumphal march once the riffs kick in. Great, hulking, fuzzy doom riffs with no small amount of psychedelic influences to set the atmosphere right away. Atom is the first time we get to hear Chinarro’s vocals, and they are the standout of the album. I would describe his voice as Robert Plant if you smoothed out his voice a lot, but still kept a bit of that razor edge underneath. It’s a bit hard to describe fully, but to quote Tod Howard, it just works. Very well. Low City Drone is next, and it’s definitely the standout on the album. Calm, introspective clean sections interspersed with emotional, hard-hitting riffs accentuated by Chinarro’s voice. It’s slow and steady while also being heavy and on the verge of sliding out of control. Can you tell it’s my favorite on the album? Welli Welloo is where the album gets its groove on, bobbing your head to catchy riff after catchy riff. Meteor Part II makes it feel like you really are flying on a meteor through space with its high tempo riffs that give me a High on Fire vibe. Last Rise keeps the momentum up with heavier grooves that accentuate peaks and valleys where Gronnier’s bass and Carretero’s drumming really shine. Ego Trip is more of the same, except the atmosphere is dialled up to 11. Big Empty rounds off the end, and it really does feel like it; the end of the journey, where you finally set down to rest with no regrets.
Like all the best psych/stoner rock albums out there, Low City Drone feels like a journey in every sense of the word. Its riffs carry you through the cosmos, the plunking bass lines give rise to introspective thought, and the drums keep the ship on course. The vocals are your guide and once you touch down, everything will have been worth it. It’s really hard to describe the feeling you get while listening to albums like these, but Deadly Vipers pulls it off spectacularly. If there is one criticism I have, it’s that Last Rise and Ego Trip tend to blend together after repeated listens, and it’s hard to differentiate from them. Other than that, an incredibly good effort from the boys from Cabestany. Excellent work.
(4 / 5)
