Vinyl Review: "Clouds Covered" by Clouds Taste Satanic

Good day. 

It's been a little while since we last spoke. Perhaps you've considered that this little blog has gone the way of the dodo, but I'm still alive.

I have started a podcast under this banner.... The Glacially Musical Pordcast.

In fact, the last person to be interviewed on the show, was none other than Clouds Taste Satanic's guitarist, Steve Scavuzzo and we talked a lot about this album, but that was recorded before I'd had heard it.

So, let's talk about something that happened. 

The band did a series of covers over the course of the year and released them as 7" 45's. They have long been very, very good at creating captivating packaging.

Thankfully, for guys like me, they took those tunes and packaged them into a single LP along with a couple new tunes for the rest of us.

So, as this starts off with Funeral For a Friend originally written by Elton John... my first thought is did this instrumental doom metal band finally dispense with the first qualifier in their ever so niche subgenre in order to make it more accessible to the rest of the world?

They did not. But they did do some amazing guitar solos standing in for the Piano.

Next up...they went into a semi-obscure Black Sabbath tune.... Behind The Wall of Sleep,

As I was told during my long form interview with Steve Scavuzzo, his idea of the perfect cover is to do your own version of a tune and not just replaying it.

Getting to this track...it's very easy to see what he means. Taking a page out of John 5's book... Guitar licks often stand in for vocal lines. 

It would also appear that they slowed this song down a little bit...if that's even possible. In the end... I think I prefer this version to the original.

Switching back to the popular music... We've now got their take on Chicago. These guitar tones are to die for. This song is so mellow, and ominous. That's why it's such an amazing success. The rhythm section just rumbles whilst the guitars play delicious harmonies...

Now, because they're a metal band, they definitely had to take on Nirvana and clearly insult the grunge movement because that's what us metalheads did versus the grunge bunnies in the 90's.

Right?

Oh, they did not. They took the Nirvana sound and smelted it into something new. The little segue into the vocal melody of Smells Like Teen Spirit takes this song to another level.

Here we have the first time on the album where the original song stays in the same genre at least as they tackle The Flaming Lips. Scavuzzo told me on the podcast that the name of the band is borrowed from a Flaming Lips title.

To say I've never been a fan of the Lips would be an understatement. Truth be told, they've always had a special level of hatred in my heart, but it was the 90's and I thought there was a war going on for my mind, when there really wasn't

This song though...this version... it's objectively beautiful. One wouldn't be hardpressed to say that this song isn't even metal. It's an atmospheric guitar gem.

Now, they're taking the time to cover a classical piece, but they're doing it there way. It's impressive how big they can make this song sound. They took an atmospheric piece and made it there own.

Then up with a rocker track. Not Fragile/Free Wheelin'. Judicious usage of that wah wah pedal and some strong rhythm groove make their take on the Bachman Turner Overdrive track a hit with me.

How else would a band follow that up but with a fuzzed out cover of The Pixies. Personally for me, I find this version lacking in Kim Deal, but why in the world would she be here? I'm going to get to the point where I talk about their moods and atmospheres too much.

Just know it's heavy and gets you in the gut.

This probably the most out there covers record I've ever heard. It's totally out there in a radical, tubular sort of way if you know what I mean.

Cheap Trick? 

Hell, why not. 

It's got a vaguely Cheap Trick-ish sort of feel, but it doesn't have that trademark twang of the original band, but who cares? This isn't about making the crowd feel good, but making them feel worse.

It's nicely done. The running them of melodic leads playing the vocal lines really sounds better in this tune than many of the others.

Now...for me, we come to the piece de resistance: the Pink Floyd mash up cover. 

This is the reason to buy the album. It wasn't released in the Satanic Singles series, only on the full length LP. It's the fitting bookend to an amazing record.

When Scavuzzo and I spoke, he told me it was In The Flesh and not In The Flesh? but as there's no vocals anyway... It reminds me more of the fascist latter than the depressing former.

It segues into the classic track from Floyd's Meddle. The only thing about this...it's not quite as adventurous as they've chosen an instrumental, but that's such a minor quibble that I'm actually ashamed I even typed it.

In the end, this is an amazing damned record. 

No warps, no skips, no static. It's as quiet as a Japanese record. You get some nice freebies in the package. But...

That's not to say the physical product is all good. I have a translucent copy, you can see it in the photo above...and on my translucent hot pink acrylic slipmat... It kind of looks like vomit.

But that's nobody's fault but mine I guess. Help them sell out of this record.

BANDCAMP