Josiah
Into the Outside

Today is a Good Day!!!

But why am I starting my new page with the sentence I've just written?

Let me explain right away, esteemed debaserian colleagues: because, by summing up the reviews written as GenitalGrinder and as De...Marga..., I reach the important and copious figure of THREE HUNDRED, narrating the story of the second album by the English band Josiah. In six years of participating in the site, I must admit that it's an important milestone. And I am immensely proud; let me indulge in this "peacocking" towards myself.

Let's kick off with a self-quotation from the band written some time ago about their self-titled debut: "A band I discovered by chance about ten years ago when they played in a small venue near my home; a trio completely immersed in the seventies, with a drugged and hallucinatory Heavy-Fuzz-Psychedelic sound (after all, the cover features mushrooms). Just mentioning the almost ten minutes of "Black Maria": like some slow Black Sabbath going crazy and meeting deranged Monster Magnet, with stoner bursts where the imposing shadow of the masters Kyuss appears."

Having said this, I could already stop here, because the musical coordinates of Into the Outside are the same. Same references, same very retro approach looking back in time, same lineup, etc., etc. It starts off at full throttle, fast, without brakes with a couple of explosive tracks: in "Turn it On" and "The Scarlatti Tilt" they thrash hard on the instruments. Short, angry, smoky songs; with Mat's harsh voice reminiscent of Dave Wyndorf from Monster Magnet. The distortion is on, bursts of Hard Rock heard a thousand times before, but they bring me a wholesome auditory pleasure.

Of course, compared to the debut, in some passages they seek a control of their explosive fury; the tracks are shorter in duration, and there are also a couple of brief instrumentals that unmistakably remind me of the more folky Zeppelin. But they take no time at all to get back on track, to erect enormous sonic walls completely unsurpassable. And then it's only right to mention the deadly "Black Country Killer," which for me turns out to be the most impactful episode on the album.

Before concluding, one more thing: the album title chosen by Josiah reminds me of the second work by Blue Cheer, namely Outsideinside. Here's another very important reference to give further substance and prestige to this disorienting trio... KEEP ON PUSHIN'...

Not the highest of marks, but it comes very close!!

Diabolos Rising 666.