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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their Best Yet, February 11, 2008
Hermano's third full length is a raging blast of superb desert rock. This is without doubt their best work, vastly superior to their last LP "Dare I Say", and perhaps even John Garcia's best since his glory days with Kyuss. Strong words, but simply "Into The Exam Room" is a tremendous album.
For the first time in their career Hermano have created a seamless album with absolutely no filler. While "Only A Suggestion" and "Dare I Say" had moments of brilliance, they both had too many lacklustre and one dimensional songs ("Manager's Special" and "Quite F***ed" come to mind). Granted, sometimes these songs acted as nice delves of energy, but I found myself skipping them more often than not. "Into The Exam" room manages to convey its messages and power without sacrificing song writing.
I could talk at length about every song here, but instead I will pick out my favourites. The one-two punch of "Kentucky" and "Exam Room" is a grand opening, with the chorus of "Kentucky" recalling the raging Kyuss classic "El Rodeo" with Garcia's unmistakable rasp and a killer lead riff from David Angstrom (as a side note Angstrom, Mike Callahan and Dandy Brown forge a multitude of superb riffs throughout the album). "Exam Room" is Hermano at their upmost best, combining sumptuous vocal melodies with cutting guitars, swaggering through various grooves and dynamics. "Hard Working Wall" fashions my favourite lead riff on the album and a real powerful, singalong chorus. "Don't Call Your Mama" is Garcia at his best, revelling in the slower menacing tempo he belts out a tremendously gritty and authoritative performance. "Our Desert Home" is a marching ode to their roots, blasting through ferocious riffs and an adrenaline-pumping chorus.
All of these songs are divided between slower, stripped down acoustic numbers, all of which ooze class and atmosphere. "Dark Horse II" fashions brooding vocals melodies and intricate acoustic playing. "Bona-Fide" and "At The Bar" follow a similar sequence, both acting as perfect breaks from the hard rocking intensity, giving excellent balance to the album.
"Into The Exam Room" is what Hermano have been promising to deliver. From start to finish it rocks and swaggers through classic desert/stoner rock with maturity and style. Fans of Kyuss, Unida, Orange Goblin etc will absolutely love this release. For those new to the band or the genre, if you like good old fashioned rock with thundering riffs and a front man with real gusto, then give "Into The Exam Room" a try.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Big step in the right (Kyuss) direction, September 15, 2008
It's a lot better than the last one, and sounds a lot more like Kyuss. The singing is great, Garcia uses a lot of different styles and expands his vocal repertoire. There are also some definite moments where that great Kyuss voice is heard. Heavy guitar sound, great fuzzed-out desert metal vibe. Even the acoustic tracks are heavy and ooze atmosphere. It's catchier than the last one too!! I like it way better than QOTSA, who I have seen twice, and each time neglected to do a Kyuss cover... what a shame!! I'd love to see Hermano play live. This album rocks and is well worth the listen.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence Achieved., March 17, 2009
About as perfect an album as I've heard in a while. It's like everything John Garcia has bee involved with (Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida, etc.) led up to this. More polished than usual, and several stand-out HUGE rock songs.
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