When Seethe bubbled up the review pipe, we were fascinated. This was some refreshing new piece of rock that had energy to spare. A still somewhat local band from Portugal finally raised its mighty voice and – blamed Zeus for it. And thinking about it, he pretty much got to carry the hat for everything if I remember that correctly.
This was some red-hot rocky fare that proudly sailed on the mighty pipes of one Sandra Oliveira. But once 2019 petered out, Blame Zeus pretty much disappeared from view. Even if Oliveira made a guest appearance on the late Moonshade piece. And that wasn’t something that went unnoticed over at the RMR review desk.
So now, the band returned to the fold with their newest tincture called Laudanum.1 Sleepy dreamin’ wrought by too much morphine or the voracious loud voices of enraged opium eaters? Well, neither.
Blame Zeus serve a mix somewhere in between Lacuna Coil and Seraina Telli without the rage. Rock served in civilized little cups of a few drops each. A mix of Heavy and Progressive Rock that expertly weaves its mid-tempo spiderweb sprinkled with some alternative altercations and some metal for added spice. In fact, the record never quite gets beyond that syrupy mid-tempo sump it seems to be stuck in. To the point that I almost wished I could reach into the piece and kick it into some lustier motion. Just sayin’.
And let’s face it. Sandra Oliveira is the red-blooded filet piece on Laudanum, and the rest is so much garnish. Her mighty roar takes up all the available space and won’t let much room to breathe to the often snazzy if not subdued guitar riffs that strangely only allow for some solos, mostly along the more hypnotic stretches of the record. In fact, methinks that the remarkable drum work stands prouder on Laudanum than the guitars.
But then again, Oliveira tells a very personal story of mental issues – which is brave and laudable in and of itself. But – that inevitably renders the record heavy on lyrics which isn’t necessarily good for this type of album. Usually, to carve out enough space for lyrics and vox to bloom, a more barebone production would probably have been better. Instead, the almost goth-tainted storytelling comes with a pretty sumptuous production that – by itself – lacks room to shine. That said, we’re not here to malign what’s on offer here. Pretty much every detail is neatly arranged and easily audible. Even if – and as we said before – the guitars constantly lose themselves back in the mix.
Stitch – the opener – robustly leads into the record at a lusty pace. And this is the track that really made us continue. The chuggin’ Penitent is at first unremarkable, but then catches itself some groovy magick by the second half. The RMR crew got somewhat addicted to For The Strong And The Faithful. Gothic to a point and heavy on rock, it expertly mixes slices of prog and a solo into an already pretty snazzy rocky piece. Last, but not least, Burning Fields – the bonus track2 – does kick it up a few notches. This one fields some neurotic-hypnotic groove, garnished with one of those rare cool solos. Laudanum in action, like.
Unfortunately though, Seethe still takes the cake over Laudanum. Whilst the former album bubbled with energy and power, this one here kinda drags itself through the mud3 but never quite gets out of it. Perhaps it’s the theme, or then perhaps not. Fact is, with a lustier pace and better energy, this here record could have beaten the old one out into the park. But – alas – it wasn’t to be.
Now, that doesn’t turn Laudanum into a vile piece, far from it. It is just that we see the shortcomings and potential – and nobody’s there to pounce on it. Still, Laudanum is a good and rock-solid album full of snazzy hooks, a vocalist in full form, and a ton of great ideas. One that will beautifully speak to fans on stage, I daresay. But – sadly – it won’t find much space on our internal playlists for very long.
Maybe next time.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Self-Released | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 4 October 2023