30 May 2023

SHEM – III (2023, LP Clostridium Records)

 

 

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Clostridium Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Marbled Green and Yellow vinyl (including logo slipmat, A2 sized poster, and logo sticker), 200 copies

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Black vinyl (including A2 sized poster and logo sticker), 200 copies

Release Date: 1 April 2023

 

Shem is a collective of musicians creating improvised psychedelic rock music. They’re hailing from Stuttgart (Germany) and “III” is obviously their 3rd album release. So far, they have released “No Songs, Just Sound” (2020) (Review) and“II” (2021) (Review).

Let’s have a look at their Bandcamp info:

“Shem is a collective of musicians aiming to perform improvisational sound pieces influenced by a wide range of eras and strains of psychedelic and progressive music. Through combining elements of ambient, drone, psych, and space rock into epic, reverb-drenched jams, Shem try to reach out beyond the established boundaries of musical conventions to create their own realm of sonic experimentation.
Constantly moving and shape-shifting within this realm, their third album sees the German collective explore further the meditative and ritualistic aspects of Kosmische ambient music, the sonic outbursts of space rock, and the atavistic rhythms of Krautrock.
Building tension through droned-out distortion and swirling oscillations, carried by steadfast drum patterns and unwavering bass lines, and enveloped by primal chants from the beyond, the four tracks on “III” represent the chapters of an inner journey – inviting the listener to experience different states of mind through ecstasy and repetition”…

Shem consists of Alexander Gallagher (Vocals, Guitars), Tobias Brendel (Bass), Alexander Meese (Synthesizers), and Benjamin Maier (Drums)… The album “III” contains just 4 tracks, 2 on each side of the LP. “Paragate” (16:21) is a long torturously slow cold n’ dark kind of industrialized n’ creepy improvisational jam with lots of sharp acid-effected sounds/noises starting under a hypnotic drum beat while progressively everything starts to accelerate creating a unique Deep-Space-Prog environment with tons of Acid (again) Spacey Bubbles… “Lamentum” (2:50) is a much shorter improvised track with some strange stoned-like-chant lyrics, it’s quite trippy and certainly Mind Bending… Side ‘B’ opens with “Restlicht” (7:34) in a kind of trippy hypnotic way, the atmosphere is dark with tons of heavily acid electric guitars, it’s improvised and quite experimental, a Heavy-on-Acid Space Trip! The last track is called “Refugium (Beyond The Gravitational Field Of Time And Space)” (11:54), under a blurry chaotic, and kind of Acidly abstract environment, the band slowly unwraps its improvisational Cosmic style, creating another mind-blending Trip to the darkest side of the moon… Spacey Trippylicious!!! In conclusion, “III” is an inner Journey to the far away Space of the Mind! All aboard… TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

A1 Paragate 16:21
A2 Lamentum 2:50
B1 Restlicht 7:34
B2 Refugium (Beyond The Gravitational Field Of Time And Space) 11:54

 

Get it directly via CLOSTRIDIUM Records

Listen/Buy through SHEM Bandcamp

 

 

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