2023-10-18 06:00:04
Appalooza – The Shining Son
Origin: Brest / France
Release: 20.10.2023
Label: Ripple Music
Duration: 45:05
Genre: Heavy Rock / Stoner Rock
The French band Appalooza has been active since 2012 and has released two albums so far. This is particularly the case with the 2021 album The Holy Of Holies also left a deep impression on our editorial team. That’s reason enough for the current and third album The Shining Son to pay attention.
What sets the band apart is a skilful mix of alternative and heavy rock, but friends of stoner rock can also find themselves in the broad musical concept. But album number three shows a clear development. With The Horse A fourth member has been added to the band, who is responsible for additional percussion instruments and background vocals.
Noticeable changes
You can feel this change in sound from the first note. The rhythm section goes just too wild in the opener Pelican to the fullest, like you HERE can hear. But it’s not an overwhelming chaos for the listener, but a perfectly designed listening experience with dense tribal sounds, supporting guitars and unaffected vocals. The first listening impression is not misleading, as is the entire album The Shining Son has moved a bit away from alternative rock and is more focused on rhythm and feeling. Other bands focus on a riff idea coupled with the desire for heaviness, but Appalooza show us a different approach.
It is the stirring rhythm that is in the foreground and it is the vocal lines that are responsible for the melodies. The guitars condense the whole thing and play in the second row. In terms of content, the lyrical concept hasn’t changed much. This is already evident from the cover artwork, which in turn comes from the band’s singer.
Nourished by your own flesh and blood
For Appalooza is The Shining Son not just a successor, but the thematic continuation of its predecessor The Holy Of Holies. Mystical stories with Christian origins are used as well as creatures from Indian mythology. The Christian symbol of the pelican, which feeds its starving children with its own flesh and blood and will perish as a result, is just as much a part of the story as its predecessor, which is involved in the takeover of power The Horse connects.
These themes are also accompanied accordingly with music. Unbreakable tells the story of the indestructible demon named The Horse, which people cannot cope with, but still stand close together in the fight despite their hopeless situation. This metaphor can be applied to many things, but the close-knit band says it primarily refers to their own sense of togetherness. Correspondingly Unbreakable hard, but seems self-contained.
Exotic rhythms and galloping dynamics
Appalooza They didn’t make it easy for themselves, they created very special songs. These sometimes appear stuttering, swaying and pounding Framedbut also melancholic as in Groundhog Dayswhich still has a noticeable grunge influence.
Once again, there are exotic rhythms and galloping dynamics paired with relieving breaks in the fantastically crafted song Wasted Landwhich it HERE is available to listen to. The Shining Son shimmers in a different color with each composition. So would have Wounded probably fits well on the previous album. But after listening to it several times, my favorite is next Wasted Land the piece Sunburn. Here too there is this wonderful rhythm work, but it is also enriched with psychedelic elements.
A long emotional surge
Somehow it’s noticeable with many bands that they always put the slightly out of the ordinary or very long pieces at the end of the album. Follow this scheme too Appalooza with the seven-minute piece packed in psychedelic acoustics Killing Maria. A slow and rising emotional listening experience was created, which after five minutes features what is probably the longest guitar solo on the album. Despite the song getting more and more intense, it doesn’t increase the tempo and leaves us with this emotional surge.
Conclusion
Appalooza have audibly developed and surpassed themselves on their third album. The Shining Son is a varied masterpiece of driving rhythms and overlying melodies. If you already liked the previous album, the current album will bring tears of joy to your eyes. 9 / 10
Line Up
Wild Horse – vocals, guitar
Lone Horse – drums
Black Horse – Bass
The Horse – Percussions, vocals
Tracklist
01. Pelican
02. Unbreakable
03. Framed
04. Groundhog Days
05. Wasted Land
06. Wounded
07. Sunburn
08. Killing Maria
Links
Facebook Appalooza
Instagram Appaloosa
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
Album Review – Appalooza – The Holy Of Holies
EP Review – Oxblood Forge – Cult of Oblivion
Album Review – Jack Power – Sonic Moons
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