BLIZARO – ‘Demo 2015’

If there ever was a recording artist or band that was in dire need of a Bandcamp page that artist would have to be John Gallo. A search and cursory glance at Youtube would reveal a wellspring of amazing material that has yet to be officially collected and released. Whether the man is concocting a strange, otherworldly doomed brew as John Gallow or with bandmates in Blizaro the end result is always impressive and engaging. Blizaro’s latest demo continues the trend and though it may not be on the same level of “weird” when compared to City of the Living Nightmare or the excellent 2013 compilation Strange Doorways (review HERE), it is some of the best, most sprawling traditional doom to be released this year.

Before even pressing play this demo captures one’s imagination with its song titles: “Death Ressurector,” “Forlorn King,” and “Light of Charon.” Combine those titles with Blizaro’s proven track record and you know you’re in store for something special. The opener, “Death Ressurector,” is an expansive composition that is in no short supply of twists and turns. From the glorious opening through its myriad tempo changes “Death Ressurector” is a scorcher of epic proportions. The track truly hits its stride over halfway through where things get spacey—Gallo’s affected voice seems to emanate from beyond the afterlife and the rhythm section locks into a staggered, lumbering crawl. Where “Death Ressurector” kicked off with a majestic intro, “Forlorn King” goes for the jugular with a muscular, almost barbaric onslaught of percussion and bass. “Forlorn King” is definitely the most aggressive and hard rockin’ track of the collection. It simply rips. Closing out the demo is “Light of Charon,” the dreariest and perhaps grimmest composition of the lot. Gallo’s playing on this track is downright wizardly—the leads are mesmerizing and he utilizes probably the grimiest tone ever unleashed on a Blizaro recording to date. “Light of Charon” is among the best, if not THEE best, doom tracks of the year. Simply stunning.

Blizaro’s forthcoming full-length Cornucopia della Morte is long overdue, but should finally see the light of day in 2016 courtesy of I, Voidhanger Records, the label who incidentally put out Strange Doorways and Gallo’s 2014 solo album Violet Dreams (review HERE). Blizaro’s latest demo, despite its brevity, should hopefully hold fans over until the new full-length is unleashed. The demo has it all, though: Gallo’s distinct wail and unique, unmistakable guitar playing backed by a killer rhythm section comprised of bassist Mark Rapone and drummer Mike Waske. This is doom at its finest—epic, sprawling, and forward thinking.

Blizaro Facebook

I, Voidhanger Records Facebook

…beyond the walls of doom: JOHN GALLOW – ‘Violet Dreams’

Surreal, cinematic atmospherics coupled with traditional doom riff wizardry and meandering leads are at the forefront of John Gallo’s (Blizaro, Orodruin) deceptively schizophrenic and reverentially titled solo debut ‘Violet Dreams’. As with the career spanning release of Blizaro’s excellent ‘Strange Doorways’ (review HERE), Italy’s I, Voidhanger Records are once again unleashing the digital and physical release. With a slight twist on his own name John Gallow’s ‘Violet Dreams’ sonically has more in common with ‘Strange Doorways’ opposed to ‘City of the Living Nightmare’ and stands even further from his seminal work with Orodruin.

While Gallo proudly wears his influences on his sleeve and would probably be the first person to volunteer his inspirations and influences those facts do not overshadow or diminish the overall effect of ‘Violet Dreams’ or his work with Blizaro. Even though there are a few contemporary bands such as Northwinds or Crowned in Earth who truly stand apart from the herd by incorporating progressive elements into their sound none of them are able to quite evoke the claustrophobic madness, unearthly soundscapes, and old-school doom atmospherics that Gallo manages to capture—a feat that he accomplishes without coming across as hackneyed or insincere. ‘Violet Dreams’ is nothing short of mesmerizing from start to finish.

Production-wise the album has an almost distant, monochromatic feel that is not too dissimilar from Candlemass’s ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’, an album that also stands as a good point of reference (among many) for unravelling the mysteries of ‘Violet Dreams’, though ‘From the 13th Sun’ would not be too far from the mark either. ‘Violet Dreams’ opens with two of the heaviest tracks to be found on the album, “Entrance to the Unknown” and “Dark Traveller”. “Entrance to the Unknown” flat out smokes with a chunky groove, blistering leads, and ghostly moans before things start to get weird. Gallo effectively and tastefully matches riffs with well-placed keyboard flourishes for an overall disorienting vibe. Where “Entrance to the Unknown” ultimately takes the listener on a journey through surreal soundscapes the much shorter “Dark Traveller” goes almost exclusively for the jugular with its head-banging groove.

‘Violet Dreams’ is a twisted, spiraling trip through realms both familiar and obscure and “Purple Room” effortlessly delves into both. Not only does it stand as one of the most warped tracks of the album, but it also features some of the album’s catchiest basslines and spectral wails from the beyond. The emotive and unique “Turn Sides”, another album highlight, is punctuated by some truly excellent riffs that really shine on the latter half of the track before keyboards eventually rise and wash over the remainder of the tune bringing it to its conclusion. Despite all of the album’s inherent weirdness “Beam of Light”, the album closer, is stylistically the most anomalous of the entire collection. Doom, for the most part, takes a backseat in favor of simple, heart-rending guitar strums as Gallo assumes the role of a demented crooner for possibly the most interesting tune of the lot.

Fans of Blizaro, particularly of the ‘Strange Doorways’ collection, will find that ‘Violet Dreams’ offers the same unique re-envisioning of a multitude of influences filtered through what can only be called Gallo’s genius. While there are scores of bands mining the past for inspiration there are few who plumb the depths or farthest reaches as thoroughly and genuinely as Gallo seems to do. ‘Violet Dreams’ is not the heaviest album of the year, nor is it trying to be, but it will by year’s end undoubtedly stand as one of the most unique and labyrinthine albums to be released. Highly recommended for fans of doom, old school horror, and for those who like it when shit gets weird…

John Gallow Facebook

I, Voidhanger Records

I, Voidhanger Records Bandcamp

…a grand grimoire of compositions and incantations: BLIZARO – ‘Strange Doorways’

Acting as a conduit while in the throes of a hypnotic madness—with seemingly unseeing eyes and actions guided by the all-knowing seers from realms long forgotten—the wizened sorcerer deciphers and channels forbidden knowledge from beyond the macrocosm. With a mastery of the mystical and alchemical spheres of the arcane arts disparate elements are meticulously combined into countless compounds, broken down, and recombined into unfathomable abominations that transcend both space time. Welcome to the wonderful world of Blizaro…

Praise to I, Voidhanger Records for collecting and compiling the elusive demo recordings of Blizaro, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and mad composer John Gallo. While not releasing some of the best American doom metal with Orodruin, Gallo has kept busy by crafting…well, pretty much whatever he pleases. With influences ranging from doom and traditional metal, horror soundtracks, Italian prog-rock, organ church music, and Gregorian chants, Gallo has concocted a vast collection of tunes that are both reverential and, at the same time, interestingly new. Throughout the forty tunes that make up ‘Strange Doorways’ the listener will hear glimpses of Black Sabbath, Paul Chain, Goblin, John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and Thin Lizzy among a myriad of other notable and influential acts. Despite the often dissimilar and contrasting elements, Gallo seems to pull off the unimaginable by throwing them into the loom that is his mind and miraculously weaving a cohesive sonic tapestry.

The two disc set, ‘Strange Doorways’, compiles the band’s demos in reverse chronology: 2012’s ‘Blak Majicians’, 2009’s ‘The Old Wizard of Winter’, 2008’s ‘Blue Tape’, and 2006’s ‘Horror Rock’, with additional tracks thrown in for good measure. Throughout the span of the forty tracks of ‘Strange Doorways’ the listener is, in the blink of an eye, transported to the uppermost chambers of a wizard’s tower, to the darkest, deepest dungeons of a decrepit old castle, to the desolate wastelands of a cityscape crawling with the undead, or to being shackled to the sacrificial altar of a black mass.

‘Strange Doorways’ defies all logic and is not bound by space, nor is it subject to time. The album, though rooted in the musical genres and traditions of the seventies, branches out to ages long past while simultaneously reaching out toward the present. The instrumental demo ‘The Old Wizard of Winter’, for example, is an organ and synthesizer laden soundtrack filled with homages to seventies Italian cinema with tracks like “Fierce Steps the Troll” as well as an ode to 8th century church services exemplified by the likes of “White Frijid Mass”. It’s also a timeless, hellish journey through the gates of Hell with the sinister vibes of “Portal of Betrayal”.

Blizaro is one of the most uniquely creative bands going today and ‘Strange Doorways’ is a career spanning collection of mad genius at work. With a runtime of two-and-a-half hours, ‘Strange Doorways’ is a massive collection of multi-faceted tunes that avoids easy categorization. Few individuals or bands are able to include such wide-ranging influences into their musical vision without crashing and burning to some degree. Blizaro—through some form of witchery or other—seems to avoid this pitfall. ‘Strange Doorways’ is the perfect name for the album, as each tune is a portal to another time and another place, and each one is seemingly darker and gloomier than the last.

Facebook