Dead Meadow

Caught Dead Meadow live last night at Fibbers in The Ancient Cathedral City Of York. They're pretty much a heavy blues / psyche outfit in the Sabbath /  Band Of Gypsys / Vertigo Records late 60s / early 70s style, churning out drum heavy, sludge-riff laden grooves, thick layers of mind-splitting feedback and a hundred tons of distorto wah-wah. They come from Washington DC, but I bet The Man don't let 'em anywhere near The White House. They used to be super-heavy, 'stoner rock' (ugh) even, but they've broadened their palette on every LP and their new stuff leans a little more towards the psyche-funk of Power Of Zeus, Vanilla Fudge etc, head nodders instead of head bangers, an' personally I'm all for it. Closing track 'Sleepy Silver Door' is a 10 minute killer jam; a monster fuzz riff riding a cement solid groove, climaxing with a great drum solo that had me whooping in delight. A 40 minute set wasn't nearly enough - a no-holes barred, curfew-free JAM session with these guys would really be sumfin else. Dead Meadow are pretty much Where It's At in terms of this particular sound, so if you're near Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach tonight (7th March) or Brighton Freebutt tomorrow (8th March) and they sound like your cup of Electric Kool Aid, go dig.