1968

Ballads Of The Godless HEVISIKE Eclectic time travellers have a nearly excellent adventure

1968 came about after guitarist Sam Orr and vocalist James coppack realised their shared love of music from that year. Wilfully pivoting through various styles, from Alice In chains-style grunge to steamroller psychedelic stoner doom, Ballads Of The Godless is the alliance of the past and present where Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland meets Kyuss with the craggy snarl of chris cornell. Sounding a tad try-hard on The Hunted, the cornell-isms don’t always wash and most of the songs plod along without a ‘Wow’ moment except for Chemtrail Blues, which smoulders away like a Hendrix-ian spiritual awakening. It kind of makes sense that an album that tastes like filthy bong water takes its cue from an era notorious for psychedelics, but with a staple diet of downtuned fuzz and layered vocals being the prominent outtake from these chaps, 1992 would’ve been a better choice of name. FOR FANS OF: KYUSS, SUNGRAZER, ALICE IN CHAINS