Doom Side of the Moon
Doom Side of the Moon
(Indie Merch / Self-Release)
Has Pink Floyd really been around 50 years? It’s hard to believe that’s true. Their music is timeless. Who doesn’t own Dark Side of the Moon, right? Who isn’t familiar with hit songs like “Comfortably Numb” or “Another Brick in the Wall?” Those are rock radio staples that get played every day. Hell, former front man Roger Waters is touring this summer, and selling out stadiums to boot. Pink Floyd is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll machine, welcome to it.
Says, The Sword guitarist, Kyle Shutt: “The idea came to me after getting baked and wanting to hear a heavy version of ‘Time.’ I thought, why not just cover the whole album? After sitting down and working out some loose concepts, the arrangement for ‘Money’ materialized and I realized that I could totally do this if I assembled the right band. It felt a little strange messing with someone’s legacy, but I’m treating it as a celebration of one of the greatest bands to ever rock, a party that everyone is invited to.”
To celebrate 50 years of Floydian goodness, Shutt has put together an amazing group of musicians to reimagine Floyd’s iconic record, Dark Side of the Moon. His band includes The Sword bandmates, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago Vela III, vocalist Alex Marrero (Brownout / Brown Sabbath), saxophonist Jason Frey (Black Joe Lewis / Hard Proof), and keyboardist Joe Cornetti (Croy & The Boys).
I’m not over exaggerating when I say that Doom Side of the Moon is complete perfection. Mind you, this isn’t a note for note take on the original record, instead, it’s a heavier, and at times, doomier, reworking of Dark Side… from musicians whose hearts and souls are truly connected to these songs in near cosmic synchronicity. The sound and music Doom Side of the Moon performs verges on the hypnotic in the musical approach that they’ve taken to recreate Dark Side… in their vision. “Speak To Me” and “Breathe” are still the same songs but filtered through different lenses. “On The Run” still retains the same interstellar, semi-psychedelic, time travel groove the original record had, except that Kyle Shutt is setting his own controls for the heart of the moon, and succeeding with his moon shot. Here’s how good this record is. Each song is better than the last one and because of this, you’re compelled to listen to the record all the way through, over and over again. The core of what made Dark Side… so special is consistently maintained throughout the entirety of the record.
I can’t recommend this record enough. Doom Side… should be hailed as a landmark record the same way Sleep’s Holy Mountain or Black Sabbath’s We Sold Our Souls For Rock N Roll are. Cover record or not, who cares, it’s beyond solid rock ‘n’ roll. Hands down, this is the best record I’ve heard in the last ten years and certainly the best record of 2017 so far.
Purchase the album here: Physical | Amazon | iTunes
