There is a lot to like about German doomsters Lex Rhino such as cool artwork and promo images that always seem to feature hot women (always a plus in my book). They also have some nice riffage and an authentic feel for classic doomy 70's rock sounds. The band's style sits somewhere in-between Black Sabbath's mid 70's era and bands like Cathedral and Pod People who also sound remarkably like Cathedral at times but that is for another post.
This EP with the great title of 'Filthy Porn & Psycho For the Decadent' that gave me an excuse to look at porn while looking for album art (which I never found by the way) has some classic doomy passages but it also has some questionable elements which I just can't get past for now.
The opening track 'Venus Vampyre Witches' is the most obvious example of this with haphazard tempo changes which sound almost intentionally bad - not bad as in unlistenable but put it this way, it sounds messy and kind of un-rehearsed. The riffs too seem just thrown together like they are playing simply the very first thing that came to their heads without any fine-tuning whatsoever. However this is the only track that seemingly goes off the rails as soon as it starts. The other three tracks are all winners with predictable but nice and tasty riffing and a magnetic atmosphere which sucks you in pretty damn quickly. This is another retro-doom band and a very predictable one at that but they are still better than most other 70's wannabees.
The band has a warm, relaxed doomy vibe that is instantly infectious to the ears that makes it clear as to why there is still a large market for this retro style of heavy music. Tracks like 'Sisters of Doom' is the kind of retro-heavy that can't help but put a smile on the face of the average hippie doomster. The track has classic Iommi-ish riff work, atmospheric organ and enough off-the-wall elements to keep it interesting. The same can be said for the closing tune 'Materialized' which has some unique guitar leads. The only real weakness to the band is vocally which is not bad at all but at the same time is kind of rough around the edges. Some of the blame for this can be put on the German accent which sounds a bit out-of-place at times but his delivery at times also seems a tad lazy. These are small gripes but very noticeable ones just the same. If you are a newbie to Lex Rhino I would recommend avoiding this EP for now and buying the 'With a Little Help from Lucifer' release which is a short but wonderful 6 track album. They also have a split with the soon to be split Dopefight which is also a much better option than buying this thing. One for the fans............7/10.
Lex Rhino | MySpace
This EP with the great title of 'Filthy Porn & Psycho For the Decadent' that gave me an excuse to look at porn while looking for album art (which I never found by the way) has some classic doomy passages but it also has some questionable elements which I just can't get past for now.
The opening track 'Venus Vampyre Witches' is the most obvious example of this with haphazard tempo changes which sound almost intentionally bad - not bad as in unlistenable but put it this way, it sounds messy and kind of un-rehearsed. The riffs too seem just thrown together like they are playing simply the very first thing that came to their heads without any fine-tuning whatsoever. However this is the only track that seemingly goes off the rails as soon as it starts. The other three tracks are all winners with predictable but nice and tasty riffing and a magnetic atmosphere which sucks you in pretty damn quickly. This is another retro-doom band and a very predictable one at that but they are still better than most other 70's wannabees.
The band has a warm, relaxed doomy vibe that is instantly infectious to the ears that makes it clear as to why there is still a large market for this retro style of heavy music. Tracks like 'Sisters of Doom' is the kind of retro-heavy that can't help but put a smile on the face of the average hippie doomster. The track has classic Iommi-ish riff work, atmospheric organ and enough off-the-wall elements to keep it interesting. The same can be said for the closing tune 'Materialized' which has some unique guitar leads. The only real weakness to the band is vocally which is not bad at all but at the same time is kind of rough around the edges. Some of the blame for this can be put on the German accent which sounds a bit out-of-place at times but his delivery at times also seems a tad lazy. These are small gripes but very noticeable ones just the same. If you are a newbie to Lex Rhino I would recommend avoiding this EP for now and buying the 'With a Little Help from Lucifer' release which is a short but wonderful 6 track album. They also have a split with the soon to be split Dopefight which is also a much better option than buying this thing. One for the fans............7/10.
Lex Rhino | MySpace