EP Review: "Cult Leader" by Zombie Rodeo

Cult Leader

Many years ago, I had to walk all the way to my friend's house. He lived good mile and a half from me. On that walk, your friend would pass many houses containing folks who did not enjoy my company.

This was not a fun proposition.

This was during the second half of high school. After a good time was had by us doing terribly nerdy things like playing Dungeons & Dragons, or talking about playing D&D, it was time for me to begin my circuitous route home.

My pal owned a car, but did not have a driver's license, so it seemed a zero sum game that this car was sitting in the driveway, but he asked me if I'd be able to stay longer if he were able to give me a ride home rather than my walking. My family was quite strict and old fashioned. Dinner was on the table at 5pm daily....

Zombie Rodeo

When the car started, it didn't sound spectacular. It sputtered and backfired. However, it did one thing quite well.

It moved.

This was my first trip with this friend driving. There was no backlog of trips for me to judge.

Before we made it one half mile, the car wasn't performing well.

Then before I knew it, this car, driven by my friend without a license, was in someone's front yard and he knocked down their mailbox. (NOTE: After we sped off, we realized that we had to go back and full amends were made and no charges of any sort were filed and the only hard feelings had were from my friend's girlfriend to me as I accepted his offer.)

Cult Leader is a lot like that car ride. The music is fuzzy, even down to the bass. There are times when everything is running smoothly, but the danger of unpredictability looms large over the tunes.

There's enough get down in the basslines to have a statue tapping his foot. There's enough melody to keep guitar freaks wearing down their frets.

Cult Leader is only a five song Extended Play, but it does keep us interested in hearing their full length. There's a special quality to this music.

It's fuzzier than rock, but cleaner than psychedelia. It's heavier than most, but it ducks down before crossing over into extreme metal. There's a lot of jumping back and forth.

Release: 11/18/16
Genre: Fuzz Rock
Label: Inverse Records
Formats: Digital, CD
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