Hippie Death Cult – Circle of Days
Release Date: 21st May 2021
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Grunge, Rock.
FFO: Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Kyuss, Queensryche.
Review By: Jason Morgan
Hippie Death Cult are a doomy grunge rock band out of Portland, Oregon. Their latest LP “Circle of Days” definitely earns the grunge badge of honor.
“Red Meat Tricks” kicks it off with a slow charging drum beat and fuzzy guitar riffs. The vocals kick in and you find yourself in the 1990’s Seattle grunge scene. The vocals have a melodic Soundgarden feel with a little Alice In Chains grit. About halfway through it rolls into a little bit of a desert rock sound with vocals still echoing over the riff. Then it goes out with a bit of a desert psych guitar solo to top it off.
“Hornet Party” comes in with a melodic intro reminiscent of Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to My Nightmare” then abruptly slaps you in the ear drums with a fast and furious charging speed metal riff. The vocals during the fast part sound more like High On Fire then grunge. The song weaves in and out of the fast riff and the melodic parts. Again the song goes out with a strong early 80’s style metal guitar solo.
“Walk Within” is very slow and melodic throughout the entire song. I have to say it sounds similar to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”. The vocals are more of an Alice In Chains style during this song. The good thing is this song will relax you after listening to the heavy and fast “Hornet Party”.
“Circle Of Days” comes in with a strong riff that definitely has a desert rock feel in the Kyuss realm. The vocals have that Chris Cornell appeal and compliments the desert rock riffs nicely. This song goes out with a nice psychedelic guitar solo.
“Eye in the Sky” comes in with a thunderstorm and a nice soft guitar intro. Most of the first half of this song is pretty mellow and filled with echo. Half way in the heavy guitar riffs kick in and it gets a little more heavy metal. Followed again by a nice guitar solo that slowly brings you back from the dark side of the force.
Don’t let the name “Hippie Death Cult” fool you. This is not a death metal band. Being from the Northwest, this band is understandably grungy with hints of doom and metal sprinkled on top. There are many layers to the heavy riffs and melodic vocals that accompany this sonic wall of grunge on this LP. Clearly this band is inspired by Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, but I would say there are hints of Queensryche and possibly some desert rock bands like Monster Magnet or Kyuss mixed in there. Depending on your age, this album will certainly take you back to an early 90’s party. So put on your flannels, get some ratty oversized jeans with the legs trimmed off at the bottom and crank this album up to 11.
(4 / 5)
