Back after their stellar Os Overdoses release earlier in the year it’s the good folks over at Dirty Filthy Records. This time they bring us Drumhard Sessions Vol I from Splitterzelle.
Splitterzelle are Sidney Jaffe (Arcane Allies, Burnpilot, Parse) on drums and synths and Pedro Pestana (10 000 Russos, Tren Go! Sound System) on guitar and pedals. Following their solo collaboration as Tren Go! Sound System & Ornamental on 2021’s album Assessment, they decided to combine their forces under one band name.
Drumhard Sessions are a series of recording sessions hosted by Splitterzelle with guest musicians which are recorded live at the Drumhard venue in Bielefeld Germany. Vol. 1 is the first session they hosted and it features Rouven Bienert (TV Strange) on guitar synth and also handling the recording and Jonas Heheman (Burnpilot, TV Strange) on bass.
The album opens on spaced out jam that is ‘Sink Positive’. Steady bass grooves guide us through this intergalactic journey. The guitar is super heavy and fuzzy slowly finding its way into the fray as a synth drones in the background. The track slowly accelerates bringing in sharper textures and ever ascending guitar riffs send us skyward. All in this is an expansive exploratory piece full of gentle waves and explosive crescendos.
We’re back on terra firma next for the motorik experience of ‘Under The Speed Limit’. Imagine a drive through a moonlit desert when a cosmic portal opens and transports you through time and space. The psychedelic wig out guitars and ever accelerating bass and drums are our cosmic highway and who knows where we’re going.
‘Slide’ is a taught affair, bass and drums in the pocket from the outset. Guitars shimmer like some lost constellation or ripples on a star-soaked lake. The guitars soon become frenetic and out of control before reigning themselves in again. This cycle continues each time throwing us further and further into the cosmos. Equal parts haunting and exhilarating.
The album closes out on the otherworldly embrace ‘Hypernets’. As if following from our journey into the cosmos we approach a celestial gateway to the interstellar expanse. The guitars forming the ethereal waves on which we soar. The bass and drums in whispered conversation with the universe keeping us true on our voyage.
As a huge space rock fan this album absolutely blew me away. That throaty guitar sound that signals our sonic journey has begun is prevalent throughout this album. The bass and drums are on point, keeping us on the straight and narrow whilst throwing in flourishes here and there to keep us on our toes. If you too enjoy this type of psychedelic rock then close your eyes and surrender to the currents. Let Splitterzelle carry you toward the unknown.
Drumhard Sessions Vol I is released on May 10th 2024 and you can grab a copy on vinyl from Dirty Filthy Records (UK), Echodelick Records (USA), Saliva Diva (PT) and Pink Tank Records (DE).
You can follow Splitterzelle on social media here…
Photo Credit
Ghazaleh Ghazanfari Artworks
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