There’s not enough great, wholesome new Desert Rawk these days so it gives us all the feels when a band materializes embodying that spirit… and on a debut no less! The band in question today is Denver’s own Hashtronaut who channel legends like Black Sabbath, mainstays like Fu Manchu, and current purveyors of the fuzzed out riffage Sundrifter across nine tracks of pure, unfiltered Rawk with No Return.
“Rip Wizard” is a tone setter and has some of those Master Of Reality vibes right away with the lackadaisical way that Kellen McInerney on “Regular Guitar” and Robb Park on “Stunt Guitar” saunter in as “Cough It Up” shreds in a more modern way and Daniel Smith gets gruff vocally before heading to a sick psych-like breakdown. “Carcinogen” is where it’s really at, though, with this epic sonic odyssey sashaying in barely three songs in and bringing an unparalleled heaviness that adds Doom and Sludge into the mix as Smith’s clean vocals get a chance to stand out over the broad verses and the steady hum of Smith’s bass, Eric Garcia’s drums (Michael Honiotes is the current Hashtronaut drummer) and McInerney and Park’s mystical licks hovering over the slow burning shreds.
“Dead Cloud” stays out in the ether for a spell with an almost transcendent opening bit that serves as a soft reset before a flurry of riffage flows freely once more, “Hex” kinda pummels for less than two minutes of monstrous metallic magic from Park and McInerney with a crushing vocal presence from Smith, and “Lung Ruiner” is vicious but not, yielding some big Grooves and bigger Growls coming out of Smith.
“Dweller” hums with the buzz from the rhythmic prowess that Garcia and Smith set forth on another fairly massive slab of Rawk and then “Marsquake” is just some rad instrumental sludginess that gives all of Hashtronaut their moment in the sun before shreddy delights abound on “Blast Off” which is like all the most unhinged moments of Melvins and Mastodon ever put to tape recapped in barely 30 seconds.
No Return arrives on March 22nd through Blues Funeral Recordings and you can find your copy by pre-ordering now right here. For more from Hashtronaut, get on board their social media train when you click here, or here.