Kadabra – Ultra
Release Date: 17th September 2021
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Psychedelic Stoner Metal
FFO: All Them Witches, Black Angels, Dead Meadow.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Ultra is the debut album by US based band Kadabra and with it being released on the psychedelic stoner label ‘Heavy Psych Sounds’, you know exactly what you are going to get.
Ultra is a 7-track psychedelic stoner trip full of fuzz laden riffs and it sits nicely at under 45 minutes, so it is not overly long. This is a blessing. Whilst the trio are technically proficient, delivering an album that sits perfectly within its genre, it is merely just an ‘alright’ album. It is perfectly listenable, but just doesn’t really reach out and grab you, offering nothing new to the listener. It is a nice listen.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some decent tracks on here. Opening track, ‘Graveyard’, is a groove-laden intro that catches the imagination, however it is followed by ‘Faded Black’, a song that takes over 5 minutes to get interesting, although it does finish with a magnificent ode to the 70’s.
‘Eagle 20’s’ is the one song that offers something a bit different. Probably the most psychedelic song on the album, it has more of a 60’s vibe, with the drummer, Chase Howard, being the stand-out aspect of the song.
Unfortunately, this perfectly nice album just doesn’t keep you interested throughout its running time. Yes, fans of the genre, and devotees of this superb record label, will no doubt lap Ultra up. It will not, however, entice new blood into the genre. ‘Bean King’ is the song that proves the point, with its generic riff that is bordering on lazy.
Kadabra have tentatively entered into a genre with some incredible bands, and they will have to up their game if they are to thrive.
(2.5 / 5)
