Kadavar – Berlin (2015)

As the perfect blast from the past, today we have Germany’s Kadavar and their latest studio full-length release “Berlin”. Titled in homage to the city where all members of the band met, this release continues the band legacy of catchy and very authentic sounding Psychedelic/Hard Rock music. For over 11 tracks (plus one bonus cover song) the band delivers hard rocking music that will instantly grab your attention and never let got.

The album instantly makes an impact with the superbly engaging “Lord of the Sky”. In this track the trio deliver their signature fuzzy sound that has a very ‘live show’ feeling to it. Bassist Simon Bouteloup, the latest person to join the band, is fully incorporated into their style and nicely adds some killer bass guitar lines in songs like “Thousand Miles Away from Home”, “Last Living Dinosaur” and the super catchy “Filthy Illusion”. This last song has a more mainstream Rock vibe, allowing the band to reach even more people.

For those of us that are looking for the Proggy/Psychedelic side of things, “Pale Blue Eyes”, “Spanish Wild Rose”, “Stolen Dreams” and “The Old Man” feature plenty of brilliant moments. Drummer and producer Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt puts in another excellent performance with very lively drum sections and keeping everybody in check for a mellow tempo. This last track is one of our favorite thanks to the funky percussions and killer guitar leads.

Giving us a certain Rolling Stones vibe, “See the World With your Own Eyes” is another sleeper hit in a release filled with excellent songs. The band always continues experimenting and expanding their sound, this allows all their tracks to be quite engaging and fresh sounding. Just before ending this release, Kadavar drops another Proggy track with “Circles in My Mind”, and the epic Hard Rock anthem “Into the Night”. This last song perfectly captures the band’s unique musical vibe and energy when they make music.

The bonus track “Reich der Träume” nicely closes this release with a very atmospheric and enigmatic mood. Overall, “Berlin” is another masterful release by Kadavar. The band has a very unique sound and continues to develop it and expand into more broad areas. If you loved any of their previous releases, this will certainly be greatly enjoyed as they keep their warm and fuzzy musical core intact. For any fan of Purson, Witchcraft, Blues Pills and Graveyard, this is a must-have album for your collection.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: August 21st, 2015

Genre: Psychedelic / Hard Rock

Country: Germany