Oh Sees – Smote Reverser

Album: Smote Reverser

Artist: Oh Sees

Genre: #Rock

Sub-genre: #sorry_mario_but_your_princess_is_in_another_castle, #siegerock

Label: Castle Face

Non-Airable Tracks: None

Description: John Dwyer has created many different combinations and permutations of Bay Area shredders under just as many names (Thee Oh Sees, OCS, Orange County Sound, etc). The group has evolved into Oh Sees, 70’s prog-rock acolytes with their latest album Smote Reverser. Gone is the shred-till-your-ded punk of old moshpit classics “Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster”. Dwyer and Oh Sees have matured, stretching out songs like “Sentient Oona” into extended jams. Even the heaviest hitting songs like “Overthrown” and “Abysmal Urn” have a more refined sense of composition and presence to them. A beloved band flirting with prog-rock and jam-band territory is always a scary thing to hear going into a record. But Oh Sees are nothing if not resourceful with limited instrumentation, and they avoid the plague of endless noodling solos that lead to nowhere. It’s a solid record – a good one to queue up as you grab the old suit of armor to go and storm Bavarian castles.

Sounds like: Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Black Sabbath

Recommended Tracks:

Reviewer’s Name: Nick Kivi

Date of Review: October 3rd, 2018