The music industry is not what it once was, with major labels seemingly not willing to invest in new acts unless they are the vapid nonsense that currently passes for R’n’B, the product of some reality show, or a one hit wonder novelty act that will be worked to death like a pit pony before being sent off to the metaphorical knacker’s yard of pop. As such, to hear any creativity from new acts in the rock and metal genre, it falls to small and adventurous labels like Svart to champion anything that is less than mainstream, or as is the case of Profound Sleep and their debut ‘Keep It Alive’, go for a self release, and for that alone they deserve respect, and that’s even before listening to note one of the very well presented CD.
Note one, and for that matter, the first few bars of the album opener ‘Ride With Me’, are initially worrying, electronic effects and an almost funky beat making me think I’ve been sent some mislabelled Euro-dance track, before the better part of a minute into the track, guitars fire in, ably backed by a pounding, rocky rhythm section, the effect being highly reminiscent of the early days of Alice In Chains, complete with hypnotic looping riffs and lyrics, futuristic synth howls adding a space rock nuance. ‘I’ve Been Around’ follows, and again, the opening drum licks played with the dispassionate precision of a machine could have been building up to a some hideous glow stick waving anthem before the sound changes direction and the amps are reset to rock, complete with a lingering guitar solo firmly influenced by the Monster Magnet school of feedback.
The desert sound of Kyuss next gets a respectful nod from the galloping ‘Judge Me’; from the punchy phrasing to the laconic vocals, it’s easy to imaging that Profound Sleep had hailed from a parched Southern California via the planet Weed, rather than the ancient Mediterranean isles of Greece. When ‘No Prison’ creeps out of the speakers and the “year 2351”, the stoner vibe can practically be smelt wafting off the distorted riffs, the trippy lyrics cementing the sound, a mellow sound that is kicked to one side by the proto-punk lo-fi garage rock of ‘I Care.’ The album closes with their longest, and for me, most satisfying number, the title track ‘Keep It Alive.’ The various sounds and influences that the band have demonstrated and paid homage to come together in six and a half minutes of blissed out rock that if played live with the same intensity as it is on the CD would happily have me variously head banging or chilling to the various time changes.
This is the first ever release by Profound Sleep, and hopefully not their last. Go to their Bandcamp page where a mere four Euros will secure you a download, support the band, and help keep grass roots music going. Don’t be a dick and swag an illegal download, or you’ll just be proving the likes of Gene Simmons right, and nobody wants that!
(7.5/10 Spenny)
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