All the Saints- Fire on Corridor X

ARTIST: All the Saints

ALBUM: Fire on Corridor X

LABEL: Killer Pimp

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 8-31-08

After building a devoted local following in their native state of Alabama, psychedelic hard rock three-piece All the Saints make their way to the world at large with a masterful debut album. Reviewers have compared the trio to Black Sabbath by way of Nirvana, and while that's not inaccurate, it's at the very least incomplete; this album is possessed of the bad acid trip heaviness of the former and the crunchy careening intensity of the latter, especially on tracks like the sparse but thundering "Regal Regalia" or the blistering noise rock of title track "Fire on Corridor X," but there's a whole lot more where that came from. "Farmacia" starts off with a tribal rhythm onslaught that eventually settles into a trance-inducing groove that's somewhere between a rock 'n' roll voodoo ritual and Krautrock on steroids, with dissonant guitar screams keeping you from nodding off with the hypnotic bass rumbles. "Papering Fix" uses ambient guitar effects as the launching pad for a journey into space rock territory, and "Outs" is psychedelia with a doom metal twist, cavernous bursts of metallic guitar alternating with moments of quiet contemplation. For all its moments of memorable intensity, though, this album also reveals a softer side; though there's an undeniable enthusiasm for walls of sound, All the Saints are equally capable at crafting more understated pieces that rely less on feedback than on subtle mood. "Leeds" is almost a ballad, with gently reverbed guitar strums and a dejected piano line creating a sense of vulnerability that seems all the smaller and more vulnerable sandwiched as it is between noisy rock epics. "Mil Mil" is similarly mellow, though less innocent; its droning strums are tripped out grimly intense, drawing on psychedelia as well as folk-noir and ending the album on a note that's quiet without being meek. For all its diversity, this album holds together remarkably well, thanks perhaps to the group's experience playing together live before releasing their debut. Proving capable of playing multiple styles, All the Saints' distinct sound draws on a fondness for - though not a reliance on - feedback and distortion, and will appeal to fans of everything from classic hard rock to psychedelia to early grunge.

Check out All the Saints on MySpace at www.myspace.com/allthesaints for more information.