WEEDPECKER – IV: THE STREAM OF FORGOTTEN THOUGHTS
Weedpecker are a self-described stoner/psychedelic quartet. It was the former part of that and that puntastic name that attracted me. I was expecting monolithic Sabbath-on-downers riffs pummelled for ever and that is most definitely not what this is.
It isn’t what I think of as true stoner but there are some elements of psych to Weedpecker’s sound. To my jaded ears at least, however, it is a prog-orchestral metal hybrid, bearing comparison to Focus, Dream Theatre and Queensryche with the occasional flashes of Floyd and Hawkwind.
After a couple of listens, I was distinctly unimpressed but this is an album that rewards repeated listens. From the space rock opener No Heartbeat Collective to the technical power-metal closer Symbiotic Nova, the more familiar it becomes, the more I like it.
I don’t think that the liking I have for this will ever grow to true love. I anticipate playing this at irregular intervals but there is a lot to like here. Wyro’s vocals are great, neither the hackneyed gravelly growl of so many stoner singers nor the clichéd stratospheric operatics of orchestral metal. His guitar playing is superb and he’s more than ably supported by Domel, Walczak and Seruon bass, drums and keys, respectively.
Definitely one for fans of heavy rock and metal to investigate.
6.5/10
