Customer Reviews

In the Future

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Black Mountain - the most public face of the Vancouver-based "Army" of the same name, a collective of likeminded musicians with amps set to nerve-stun levels and guitars possessed by wailing blues ghouls - have been busy since the release of their self-titled debut in 2005.
Following the sleeper success of their debut Black Mountain - which saw them invited to support Coldplay on a North American arena tour - the band apparently cloistered themselves in the studio to record for 14 days straight, barely pausing to eat or see daylight.
The second album from the Canadian prog band continues to take the basic musical building blocks of duelling guitars and pounding drums to construct a rock monster.
This is a CD alive with tales of witches, demons, sun cults, and one 17-minute song, "Bright Lights", whose sole lyrics warn us of impending war, destruction and darkness.
Stephen McBean and his buddies don't hold back, with "Tyrants" - a 1970s metal moan against anonymous bad men - stretching over eight minutes in a face-shredding three-part epic, while "Bright Lights" - with its ambitious but unwieldy mixture of electroacoustic free noise and clumping rock grooves - clocks in at twice that.
Amber Weber's vocals add depth to the riffmungus workouts, ranging from Thin Lizzy-style repetition to more contemplative passages in "Wucan".
Through ragingly volatile highs and purposely sluggish lows - more ups than downs, literally and critically - "Black Mountain" surely show off their greatest recording achievement to date here.
It's captivating, cosmic stuff. The band (who all still hold down day jobs as mental healthcare and drug rehabilitation workers) switch between swamp and space with admirable grace, held together by singer Amber Webber's remarkably full-lunged vocals and Stephen McBean's bleak vision of the world.
Standouts : "Stormy High" and "Stay Free".

Black Mountain exists in a swirl of heavy, grimy, vaguely psychedelic hard-rock, redolent of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (with maybe a touch of the Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd).

And the band is in fine shape in their sophomore album "In The Future" -- they introduce some new musical twists, while still keeping their signature sound. It's a powerful, intense collection of hard-rockers, but with a few softer songs sprinkled in to show their range.

It opens with a grimy riff, a dark stomping bassline, and some smashing drums -- and for a minute, the appropriately-named "Stormy High" whips itself into a barely-restrained frenzy. When Stephen McBean's wailing vocals join the mix, the song straightens out into a solid, intense rocker that blasts its way down, reeking of classic rock concerts and apocalyptic fury.

Having reeled you in, Black Mountain turns out the bluesy "Angels," with McBean lamenting, "Come on, lay your head on down/angels, lay your arms around/every city's singing saddened songs...." And that quieter song is echoed in some of the others -- mournful folkiness, haunting fuzzy songs, or the ethereal closing lament "Night Walks."

But they haven't abandoned the harder music, thankfully. This is where their real power erupts out -- simmering hard-rock, gritty psychedelica wound with synth, stormy twisting electro-metal, and the penultimate song -- a seventeen-minute epic journey through explosive hard-rock, solemn organ instrumentals, and an earsplitting finale.

Whoo. What a ride. It's been only three years since Black Mountain came out with their self-titled album and EP -- it was great music, but still raw and unformed. They've obviously done a lot of work in that time, because "In the Future" is a whole different beast -- they're more polished, focused and eclectic in their sounds.

Like any good hard-rock album, it's got loads of twisting, undulating riffs and heavy basslines, fused into strong, muscular melodies -- also mix in smashing drums, tambourine, some somnolent organ, and acoustic guitar. And the band can switch styles in an instant -- for instance, "Tyrants" effortlessly flips between wistful Renaissancey ballads, and epic, powerful sweeps of hard-rock.

Also take note: there's a lot more synth in this album than in their previous one. It's all very early 1970s -- colourful psychedelic ribbons wound through "Wucan," plenty of harmonium, and strangled keyboard notes.

McBean's voice hasn't changed, though -- he's still high and waily, and in the louder songs he sounds like he's leading an army ("The heart it waaaas/howling in the heavens... we will come together!"). He shares vocal time with Amber Webber, whose smooth wistful voice sounds at home whether she's dueting with him, or singing the softer songs by herself.

"In the Future" is the natural evolution of Black Mountain -- a powerful, polished, intense retro-rock collection. This is one mountain that's worth scaling all the way.

Black Mountain exists in a swirl of heavy, grimy, vaguely psychedelic hard-rock, redolent of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (with maybe a touch of the Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd).

And the band is in fine shape in their sophomore album "In The Future" -- they introduce some new musical twists, while still keeping their signature sound. It's a powerful, intense collection of hard-rockers, but with a few softer songs sprinkled in to show their range.

It opens with a grimy riff, a dark stomping bassline, and some smashing drums -- and for a minute, the appropriately-named "Stormy High" whips itself into a barely-restrained frenzy. When Stephen McBean's wailing vocals join the mix, the song straightens out into a solid, intense rocker that blasts its way down, reeking of classic rock concerts and apocalyptic fury.

Having reeled you in, Black Mountain turns out the bluesy "Angels," with McBean lamenting, "Come on, lay your head on down/angels, lay your arms around/every city's singing saddened songs...." And that quieter song is echoed in some of the others -- mournful folkiness, haunting fuzzy songs, or the ethereal closing lament "Night Walks."

But they haven't abandoned the harder music, thankfully. This is where their real power erupts out -- simmering hard-rock, gritty psychedelica wound with synth, stormy twisting electro-metal, and the penultimate song -- a seventeen-minute epic journey through explosive hard-rock, solemn organ instrumentals, and an earsplitting finale.

Whoo. What a ride. It's been only three years since Black Mountain came out with their self-titled album and EP -- it was great music, but still raw and unformed. They've obviously done a lot of work in that time, because "In the Future" is a whole different beast -- they're more polished, focused and eclectic in their sounds.

Like any good hard-rock album, it's got loads of twisting, undulating riffs and heavy basslines, fused into strong, muscular melodies -- also mix in smashing drums, tambourine, some somnolent organ, and acoustic guitar. And the band can switch styles in an instant -- for instance, "Tyrants" effortlessly flips between wistful Renaissancey ballads, and epic, powerful sweeps of hard-rock.

Also take note: there's a lot more synth in this album than in their previous one. It's all very early 1970s -- colourful psychedelic ribbons wound through "Wucan," plenty of harmonium, and strangled keyboard notes.

McBean's voice hasn't changed, though -- he's still high and waily, and in the louder songs he sounds like he's leading an army ("The heart it waaaas/howling in the heavens... we will come together!"). He shares vocal time with Amber Webber, whose smooth wistful voice sounds at home whether she's dueting with him, or singing the softer songs by herself.

"In the Future" is the natural evolution of Black Mountain -- a powerful, polished, intense retro-rock collection. This is one mountain that's worth scaling all the way.

I heard this yesterday at the local record store and immediately grabbed it. This is one of those rare gems you infrequently get turned on to. Just one more reason to lament the demise of CD stores in favor of online downloading, eh? For everyone over 50, picture this: What if Grace Slick had been the lead singer of 70s era King Crimson? Great stuff!! A truly unique mixture of influences. Like the retro synth, B3 and acoustic sounds!!

I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this album, after realizing how much it reminded me of many seminal '70s prog rock and psychadelic bands from my flaming youth....pages from the playbooks of Pink Floyd (especially in their use of vintage keys and synth sounds), Led Zeppelin, early Black Sabbath and Rush, and more surprisingly, Uriah Heep and Blue Cheer are liberally plundered, but Black Mountain more than manage to give it a style of their own. Very cool, relaxing and rhythmic rock music with some nice folk and prog leanings...you can practically smell the incense. Or IS that incense? (laughs)

As noted by other reviews, the music on this album sounds a lot like hard rock of the early 1970s. If you like new music that sounds like old music, you might also like a band named The Sound Track of Our Lives. Stormy High seems to be the strongest composition on this album. I don't care much for the falsetto singing in Stay Free. Queens Will Play makes me think of Jefferson Airplane. Evil Ways sounds a bit like Black Sabbath. Bright Lights sounds a bit like Pink Floyd. Overall, there is some polish and sophistication to this music: varying rhythms, textures, melodies, tempi and emotional intensity. That polish makes it easier to stomach the trendy qualities of weak intonation and weak vocal technique.

After a couple of listens to this record the songs seem to grow on you.
The record has a sound like it was taken from the earlier 70's and remastered.Check out the GRACE SLICK like vocals and the Black Sabbath pulsing guitar riffs. Throw in some underlying Pink Floyd, mix a little Zepplin in, and you have a pretty good record.
All in all,this band will take you right back to the seventies, with a littke bit of today's studio tricks.
Looking forward to their next release!!!

Great CD. Thundering drums, interesting and varied song arrangements. If you like led Zeppelin's song "no quarter" this CD is for you. Heavy, dark and ominous psych rock at its best.

Anyone who gives this less than 4 stars and then has reviews for Led Zeppelin albums is a complete twit. As far as new music goes this is fantastic!! It took a couple of listens to really appreciate what they were trying to do, and as a musician, I love the production. Both Black Mountain Cd's are fun listens, but I recommend In the Future as the first purchase!.

WOW!!!!!Sweet Baby Jesus!!!!!!!! THANK GOD Rock and Roll is still alive. This is a very good CD but, with all due respect, they're no Black Sabbath or Pink Floyd. They sound more like a the Jefferson Starship meet Patti Smith. They would be extremely at home in the late 60s as their music has that West Coast psychedelic flavor. This is very groovy, simple(musically and lyrically) but multidimensional sonic fair. No two songs sound the same, but the entire CD flows so well that it has a psychedelic feel when listened to in it's entirety. The whole CD is good but the songs Night Walks, Queens Will Play and Bright Lights KILLLLLLLLLL!!!! Amber Webber has the voice of a GODDESS!!! But, if you're into Black Sabbath (heavy/doom metal) you'll be wondering why, of all bands, they're comparing Black Mountain with them. But if you're into late 60s psychedelic rock, you'll LOVE this CD.